360DigitalInfluence

When I traveled through the Caribbean and New Orleans on my honeymoon five years ago, I did not give leaving my Blackberry at home a second thought. It wasn’t so much that it was my honeymoon, it was because technology was not as pervasive or accessible. It was just the start of the Web 2.0 world — for example, I was one of the few in my circle to have a Blackberry — at the time, many were taking baby steps (usually taught by their younger siblings or co-workers) of texting, so there was less of a need to plug in.

As we all acknowledge, though, today’s world is different. Airlines are fighting for your dollars by vying to be the first to have wi-fi access and now many will have it this summer . Many of us lament how it would be possible to leave our technology behind, even for a few days. And many a blog discussion has been had about the pros and cons of disconnecting or connecting.

Part of the beauty of a vacation for me, at least, is not only the getting away, but the feeling of getting away with something. When I’m lounging at a pool on a Wednesday at 2 p.m. and am truly relaxed, I feel I’m getting away with something. If I were to have my laptop or Blackberry poolside and anyone could ping me about a work deadline, question, or even a neighbor asking if we wanted our mail picked up, it would interrupt that zen quality that comes only from vacation and travel. Stories can always be captured and shared while traveling, but it’s the interruptive nature of technology that is what people should really disconnect from. Otherwise, you might as well have stayed home.