Getting off the grid

Every day, 150 million people log on to Facebook to check their wall, update their status or look at photos from the night before posted by their friends.

“While all humans need to feel connected to each other or to some cause, there are also times when we simply want to disconnect,” said former marketing director for Apple, Steve Chazin. “And disconnecting is becoming increasingly hard thanks to social networking technology.”

Is it possible for an American to exist “off-the-radar” in a world where people are bound to their cell phones, their laptops, their omniscient social networking devices and ultimately, their virtual identities? I’ll find out soon enough.   

Beginning in January, I’ll be in northern Thailand studying globalization and modern development. For six months, my time will be spent living in villages and observing first-hand the unquestionably adverse effects that modernization has had on the locals there.

But I have to admit, in going there, part of me is motivated by a desire to free myself from some of those same modern influences.

I’m usually not the kind of person to resort to a blanket condemnation of technological progress. Most people, including myself, find that sort of whining to be a bit off-putting. There’s nothing worse than listening to somebody gripe about the evils of the Internet, mobile devices and the PATRIOT Act. Nobody likes a complainer.

Then again, I have to confess that I have the undeniable inkling that dependence on those things is unhealthy for the human psych.

It isn’t a fear that the air is heavy with radioactive waves that drives that feeling. And no, I don’t think the government is spying on me 24/7. Aside from a communist postcard featuring the portrait of a smiling Ho Chi Minh that my brother airmailed me from Vietnam, they would have no reason to suspect that I’m a threat.

Regardless, I’m still looking forward to being in a world where electronics are not as necessary. I think part of my disdain for virtual connectivity comes from the fact that, to an extent, it’s a sign that people are no longer seeking stimulation from real world experiences.

Let’s face it: Facebook is just another way for people to fill that void of time in their lives when they otherwise would be doing nothing.

In less than two months, I’m going to be surrounded with unfamiliar sights, sounds and smells, and if I devote my attention to keeping up with my virtual identity here, I’m going to miss all of it.

When I step off the plane, I don’t plan on throwing my watch on the ground in a symbolic “screw you” to the American way of life. This isn’t “Easy Rider.”

I am, however, really looking forward to being in a place where my time is filled in such a way that I won’t need to be constantly bothered with monotony or with the mind-numbing devices we generally replace our boredom with.

There are plenty of other methods for eliminating boredom, like exploring the world around you. After all, I think we can all agree that browsing the Internet is just not a substitute for genuine adventure.