The lesson in disconnecting

Any given morning you will find me waking up, phone in hand, checking out my social media. I know, it’s not great, but it’s a common way for my generation to function. Social media opens up a possibility to connect with friends that aren’t near. Admittedly though, most of my time on social media is not spent connecting as much as it is feeding a habit.

Now at camp, however, my mornings are a lot different; when I wake up my thoughts turn to the shivering cold running through my body caused by alpine conditions and humidity. My phone serves me no purpose, as cell service is bad and WIFI nearly impossible. Originally the plan was to create visibility for the expedition via social media, to post picture after picture even on our personal social media accounts, but the truth is, we’re on an expedition for real and Internet is hard to come by in the mountains. These pictures will have to wait to be posted.

And to be frank, it doesn’t seem to bother anyone. Turning off our phones allows us to be present and forces us to interact with each other whereas at home we might resort to not seeing our friends as often because communication is handled through our phones. It breeds patience. I also believe it allows us to concentrate on our work and what’s essential more. I feel less pressure to externally explain my whereabouts, my feelings or even what I’ve had for lunch. And maybe there is a lesson in all of this, to plug out even where WIFI is accessible and especially when we are around other people.

/Bettina Jansson, Företagsekonomi