National Day of Unplugging: Are you ready?

By Karen Farris, Op-ed contributor Thursday, March 05, 2020

The National Day of Unplugging is happening from sundown to sundown March 6-7. We have become conditioned to using our phones and mobile devices to entertain us and keep connected. We spend hours looking down rather than at the world around us, or at one another. What could happen if we just unplugged for a solid day? Could the time be used to play games, or enjoy activities where conversations aren’t interrupted by social media updates?

Currently, there are 1,000 unplugged events scheduled across our nation. Communities are gathering to re-connect in non-digital ways. What can 24 hours really do? If it only raised our awareness of just how habitual our digital devices have become, that would be positive.

National Day of Unplugging is part of a global effort to recognize that we are missing out on so many opportunities to have real connections instead of just digital ones. Check out the National Day of Unplugging website and consider taking the one-day pledge. You could choose to host an event — in your neighborhood, at work, or even with the family.

Some are choosing to use this Day of Unplugging to help the homeless and needy in their communities. By downloading the lilspace app to track unplugged minutes, a donation is made to Unplug for a Cause. Minutes tracked on the app will be translated into socks donated to Knock Knock Give a sock — helping the homeless. In another effort to end distracted driving, State Farm Insurance will donate 10 cents per minute to Textless Live More — a student advocacy group hoping to save teen lives.

Can one day really make a difference? Perhaps it will lead to an opportunity to create more unplugged times in our homes, workplaces, and even our churches. We have adapted to being online full time and being unplugged reveals that it isn’t life altering to go offline every so often.

For more information on National Day of Unplugging

Karen Farris saw the need to help underserved kids while serving in a youth ministry that gave her the opportunity to visit rural schools on the Olympic Peninsula. She now volunteers her time grant writing to bring resources to kids in need. She also shares stories of faith in action for those needing a dose of hope on her weekly blog, Friday Tidings.www.fridaytiding.com