Photographer Eric Pickersgill created the fascinating photoseries, entitled Removed, after realising he would frequently turn his back on his wife while looking at his phone.
The past month has been chaos with the Jewish holidays that just ended (finally) tonight, which is the reason my posts keep happening so late. I, like many other observant Jews, do not use technology and various electronic devices during the holidays. As I conclude this holiday season, I am excited to gain control and full access to my technologies once more, particularly have full access of my computer to do my homework. I have recently become more flexible with using my computer if necessary for homework or stage management. Watching the videos Rowan posted after reading Hand’s article, I was not surprised by the general negativity about the impact of technology on our ability to communicate for one another. At the same time, I agree with Evie, Aaron, and others who argued that Touchscreen does not give credit to the positive impact of the digital world. Not having the ability to communicate with many of my friends and family who do not use technology over the holiday further reminded me of the unavoidable all encompassing nature of technology and our ability to communicate with people all the time. About a year and a half into college, I began texting on Shabbat and holidays, although I do not write or use my computer. My decision to do so was twofold: without the ability to contact my non-Jewish friends, I often found myself alone and isolated. Additionally, since I couldn’t contact many of my Jewish friends, it seemed that using my phone would allow me to be able to make plans with those of my Jewish friends who do use their phones. What I did not anticipate was that becoming more flexible in my electronic uses would actually result in a very distinct and isolating divide between myself and those more religious. Since selecting to use my phone, I am interested in how I can be more mindful of my technology usage all the time, especially on holidays. I have attached a link to an article with photos of people with their phones/devices removed to draw attention to our over-dependence.












