I was nine when the world awaited the Y2K catastrophe. At the time, I didn’t see it as a catastrophe. I was excited! This was back when most people didn’t own cell phones and the Internet couldn’t be carried around in a pocket. Still, modern technology infused daily life and the idea of returning to Little House on the Prairie pulled at my heart.
Of course, in my childhood naivety, I underestimated what kind of chaos and pain a theoretical Y2K would have caused. But, maybe more importantly, I underestimated my own power and responsibility to resist whatever downsides of modern technology I perceived. I loved the idea of everyone being forced to stop their television habits, but I wasn’t going to be the first one to do it!
But then, one year, I gave up TV for Lent. And I didn’t want to go back once Easter came around. That was just the beginning. Many years later, I dropped social media, and then the smartphone, and then regular internet usage and access. Every single time I have eliminated modern digital technology from my life I have been better off for it. I am not going to make the argument here or now that it is inherently problematic and I am not going to make the argument for any specific limitations. But, I know the difference it has made in my own life– how vastly easier it is to enjoy life deeply and live in my present reality without the constant distraction of screens. Even when those screens are delivering good and inspiring information–which they often do!– the medium itself creates so many other problems.
So, while I started off trying to write a blog post about this journey away from digital technology, I realized that it was a little bit hypocritical to continue posting information on the internet when I, myself, am trying to wean off of most of my internet usage. So, without further ado, I am ending my blog posts on this website. I will still be writing, and have been doing so, in physical print journals and books. Currently, you can find my essay writing in the St. Austin Review, but also in my three currently published books, A Storybook of Saints, The World Waits (both distributed by Sophia Press) and sons of God, which is distributed directly by me. I have other books in the works and I hope to write more offline than I did online. I am so grateful to all the people who, throughout the years, have inspired me with their online presence. And I am grateful to have been able to write on this blog in the first place– it has helped me to work through those “degrees in idealism,” moving toward the “efflux of goodness executing and organizing itself.”*
Please feel free to email me at elizabethjane538@protonmail.com if you want me to send you any of my books or have any questions. (I haven’t moved away from email yet, but maybe one day!)
*Emerson, “Circles”
Leave a Reply