Written by Shea McInnis

Thumbnail Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

The world is more connected now than it has ever been before. While this isn’t news to anyone, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has only made it much more apparent how plugged in we always are. I, like many others, have been privileged to be able to shift to a primarily virtual lifestyle where I can work and attend classes from the safety of my own home. While this is fantastic in some regards (I have saved so much time commuting this year!), it also has blurred the lines between home life and work-life (my supervisor and colleagues can recognize my living room, for example). Globally, our work-life balance has eroded, as full-time workers are working on average 48 minutes longer during the day than they were before – that’s an extra half day per work week! For many graduate students (who are, in fact, workers) this has also extended into working long, unconventional hours as meetings can extend further and further into the evening since we can now attend meetings from home. It’s exhausting, and I know it makes me wish I could fully disconnect.

Even prior to the pandemic, our society was always plugged in. Consider yourself – if someone needed to get in touch with you, could they? Knowing my experiences, I say that most people are reachable at all times of the day. I know I always have my phone in my pocket, which lets me know about every text, phone call, email, or any other notification I may get. Many people instantly check and respond to notifications that come their way, and this becomes a major source of anxiety due to the fear of disappointing others by keeping them waiting. Our connected world has given us the blessing and the curse of having everything come quickly.

Even in our personal lives, we can see the impacts of the digital age. Many of us subscribe to some form of video or audio streaming service, like Netflix and Spotify. At any given moment in time, we have access to way more movies, shows, and music than has ever been available to a single person at any other time in history. Anecdotally, I find being supersaturated with choices and options makes me less likely to engage with individual pieces of media. This seems to be true particularly with music – streaming services have evolved to primarily showcase singles, and as a result interest in complete albums has dropped dramatically.

Though despite the adoption of convenient technologies in our lives, older, “vintage” technologies appear to be making a comeback. This could be in response to the “technological supersaturation” we experience in our daily lives. Specifically, what comes to mind are the revivals of vinyl records, cassette tapes, and film cameras. Likely the most well-known of these revivals is the return of vinyl records, which were more popular than CDs in the US in 2020. Many vinyl fans (myself included) cite the “vinyl experience” as a driver of their love of the format. Playing an album on a turntable is a much more visceral experience – the needle has to be physically placed on the record, and the album flipped to continue listening. This investment of time and effort connects you more closely with the album and the experience of listening to the music front to back, in the order the artist intended. The same can be said about cassette tapes, which have also been increasing in popularity. The financial investment in one album, the physical space it occupies, and the effort required to enjoy the format forces you to slow down and to become invested in the experience – in stark contrast to the convenience and speed of music streaming services.

Slowing down, reconnecting the world, and delaying gratification are also reasons why some people are returning to the world of film, or analog, photography. The mass adoption of digital cameras in the early 2000s lead to the discontinuation of iconic films such as Kodak’s famous Kodachrome line, and the overall decline in sales of analog photography products such as film stocks and photographic paper. Though despite more than a decade passing since the popularization of the digital camera, renewed interest in film products has reinvigorated the industry and has even allowed the reintroduction of some film stocks, such as Kodak’s Ektachrome line. But, why? The process is expensive, and getting film developed is a long process (even when developing at home). In a similar vein to vinyl and cassettes, many people gravitate towards film because of the intentionality, and the care that film requires. Each picture has an easily visible cost associated with it, and this inspires a careful, slow, and intentional approach to taking each picture. This is antithetical to the digital photography workflow, where hundreds of individual images can be easily taken with little regard. The “film process” injects more thoughtfulness into our activities, which may otherwise be lacking in our modern, hyper-connected and convenient world.

But, besides running out and buying a turntable, tape deck, or film camera, how else can we slow down and “unplug” from the world? A good first step would be to set boundaries for both your personal and professional lives. Balancing work and life looks different for everyone, but can begin with having well-defined hours that you dedicate to work. This could take the form of only responding to emails at certain hours of the day, then logging off and disabling work-related notifications when the day is over. Another strategy is to practice self-care, which in this case may look like purposefully cutting your contact from your devices. Removing the primary source of hyper-connection (typically your phone) from a part of your day will force you to disconnect from the world. Perhaps you leave your phone at home or out of easy access while on your afternoon walk, or perhaps you define specific “no screen time” hours during your day.

The digital world we live in never sleeps, and it has the uncanny ability to keep us plugged in at all times. The effects of our hyper-connection and lightning-fast world on our collective mental health is plain to see, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unplugging and slowing down is not only desirable but may also be imperative for our wellbeing. Whatever form this may take – listening to your favourite album on vinyl or cassette, exploring the world with a film camera in your hand, or intentionally leaving your devices behind – the benefits of temporarily disconnecting and emulating a lifestyle where time moved slower cannot be understated.

Looking Backwards: Disconnecting in a Hyper-Connected World

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