Have you ever wondered just how attached you are to the digital world? Understandably, it is very easy to get sucked into. Ever since the internet began booming, businesses have been looking for ways to reach out to their customers and interact with them in this digital space. They are always looking for the up and coming technologies and creating imaginative tools. Usable, interactive websites and social media have proven to be some of the frontrunners in a business’s marketing strategy and provide them with unique interactions with their customers.
I spent some time trying to remember what it was like before social media (4 years guilty), computers (10 years guilty) and cell phones (8 years guilty). At 23 years old, I grew up when a lot of new and exciting technologies were created and have watched them evolve. I am, however, slightly ashamed to admit that I can’t imagine living without them. This is why, when I heard about the concept of Digital Down Day, I immediately wanted to take part.
The concept was created by marketing guru John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing. Tomorrow, Friday the 13th, John is challenging social media addicts, text savvy teens and computer junkies to put down all that is digital for a whole day. And you thought Jason Voorhees made that date scary! Now to some, this may seem like no big deal- they grew up without cell phones glued to their heads. To others of a younger generation, this is likened to cutting the umbilical cord to the outside world. I mean, a whole day without digital anything, are you out of your mind?
The idea was greeted with mixed reactions.
John created three levels of Digital Down Day:
- Unsocial- staying off social networks all day
- Unplugged- getting off the online world completely, but some may need to work on their computer
- Unwired- get outside and smell the roses!
So what’s the point of all this? It’s not to revolt against social media or “stick it to the man”, but simply to spend a day appreciating all that is “undigital” in a very technically- savvy world. But you know what they say, no matter how cliché it is; absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Are you willing to accept the digital duel? Tomorrow, I am challenging myself to be unsocial to find out just how attached to social media I am, but don’t worry- I’ll make sure to tweet all about it on Saturday.
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Tags: #DigitalDownDay, social media, twitter
What an interesting way to discover how important ‘being connected’ has become in our lives. I look forward to Saturday’s rampant rebound tweets and status updates.
I’ll be hand delivering your blog comments and support to Shawna tomorrow, as the blogoshere will also be off-limits.
Great article.