When I was in journalism school, I had several classes that were basically "do reporting." Deadline was 5pm and we had to produce radio, TV or newspaper stories by then—whatever the news of the day happened to be. During those semesters I was stupendously well-informed. I'd be monitoring the news wires all day, updating or reshuffling stories to keep up with events, writing and rewriting stories on the stuff that I thought was most important. Sure, we were just students, but I got a taste of the whole "fast-paced newsroom" thing.
Right after graduation, I completely unplugged and went on a 3-month bicycle trip. I rode all day and camped near the road each night. Sometimes I'd make detours to go hiking or canoeing at a particular spot. That summer I hardly spent any time indoors, let alone looking at screens or connected to the internet.
The effect on my mind was stunning. I had a completely different perception of time, distance, the weather, food, my own body, other people... everything! Afterwards I joined an internet startup, and went back to the connected lifestyle, but wow, I'll never forget it.
So go for it. There are ways to escape the screens, for a summer or a lifetime, if you want.
When I was in journalism school, I had several classes that were basically "do reporting." Deadline was 5pm and we had to produce radio, TV or newspaper stories by then—whatever the news of the day happened to be. During those semesters I was stupendously well-informed. I'd be monitoring the news wires all day, updating or reshuffling stories to keep up with events, writing and rewriting stories on the stuff that I thought was most important. Sure, we were just students, but I got a taste of the whole "fast-paced newsroom" thing.
Right after graduation, I completely unplugged and went on a 3-month bicycle trip. I rode all day and camped near the road each night. Sometimes I'd make detours to go hiking or canoeing at a particular spot. That summer I hardly spent any time indoors, let alone looking at screens or connected to the internet.
The effect on my mind was stunning. I had a completely different perception of time, distance, the weather, food, my own body, other people... everything! Afterwards I joined an internet startup, and went back to the connected lifestyle, but wow, I'll never forget it.
So go for it. There are ways to escape the screens, for a summer or a lifetime, if you want.