{"id":1237,"date":"2014-12-07T10:03:05","date_gmt":"2014-12-07T15:03:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/?p=1237"},"modified":"2014-12-08T07:57:22","modified_gmt":"2014-12-08T12:57:22","slug":"i-am-not-a-screen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/?p=1237","title":{"rendered":"I am not a screen."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Tablet<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

I am not a screen (although as I write this, I am looking at a screen). You are not a screen (but you’re reading this on a screen, right?).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This is a problem. \u00a0I think we all need to take a break from screens. \u00a0Well, at least until I finish writing this blog post and you finish reading it!<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

So I was traveling this week. \u00a0I walked down Concourse A in Newark with my boarding pass, as usual, loaded on my smartphone. \u00a0Then I realized that my phone had less than 10% of its battery left. If my screen died before I reached TSA, I was in trouble. \u00a0I was a screen.<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
I walked into the United Club at Newark Airport.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

The young man at the counter’s eyes strayed up towards mine but only momentarily. I handed him my phone. He took my screen and laid it against another screen on a console. Then he looked at another screen. As he was looking into that screen, his eyes not moving, he said “Welcome Mr. Johnson.” \u00a0I was a screen.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

I looked around. \u00a0The lounge was crowded. \u00a0But no one was talking. \u00a0No one was laughing. \u00a0No one trading stories. \u00a0Everyone was looking at screens. \u00a0People with phones clutched them single-handed. \u00a0Those with tablets cradled them with two. Their eyes staring into screens. No head moved.\u00a0People had plugs in their ears. No eyes looked up.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Several years ago, technologist (and musician) Jared Lanier wrote a book titled, “You are not a gadget<\/a>.” \u00a0I don’t think it overly melodramatic to describe it as a cry of and for humanity in an age of disconnected connectivity. \u00a0I sorta felt that yesterday. My life lurches from one screen to another. A screen is one\u00a0of the first things I encounter in the morning and one of the last things I look at at night. There is something sad about that.<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Yesterday I was reading a presentation on how to write a book. \u00a0(Yes, I’m thinking about it.) Tip #11 was “close all the windows”. I thought wow, why would anyone want to do that? \u00a0I like the outdoors. \u00a0I like fresh air. \u00a0Wouldn’t an open window inspire writing not detract from it? \u00a0Then I realized that when he was talking about “windows” it wasn’t the normal windows of a house. \u00a0It was the windows of screens. \u00a0Phones. \u00a0Tablets. \u00a0Laptops. \u00a0Displays (these used to be called televisions but I guess that word is headed for oblivion.)<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

I thought about getting a timer and totaling up the percentage\u00a0time each day that I spend looking at a screen. \u00a0But I thought better about it. \u00a0I probably wouldn’t want the answer. \u00a0Then I realized that to doo this I would likely have to use my smartphone. \u00a0Another screen!<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

OK. \u00a0You can go now. \u00a0Put down the phone. \u00a0Put down the tablet. \u00a0Close the laptop. \u00a0Take a walk. \u00a0Pet your dog. \u00a0Talk to a person. \u00a0Hold someone’s hand. \u00a0Remind yourself that you are more than a screen. \u00a0And so are the people around you.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

We are all more\u00a0than just a screen.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
“Tablet Love<\/a>” by\u00a0Sascha M\u00fcsse<\/a>\u00a0is licensed under CC BY 2.0<\/a><\/em><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am not a screen (although as I write this, I am looking at a screen). You are not a screen (but you’re reading this on a screen, right?). This is a problem. \u00a0I think we all need to take a break from screens. \u00a0Well, at least until I finish writing this blog post and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74,75,11,9,45],"tags":[150,154,134],"class_list":["post-1237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ipad","category-kindle","category-media","category-social-media","category-travel","tag-media","tag-social-media","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1237"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1245,"href":"https:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1237\/revisions\/1245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}