Happily Unwired
In spite of being enamored with my new rustic memory stick 
(it arrived yesterday and is true perfection!), I told a friend earlier this week that I felt like there will be a backlash sooner rather than later of people becoming exhausted with the expectation (their own or others) that they will be connected 24/7. Apparently I was more prescient than I realized.
In today's USA Today, Janet Kornblum writes about a small but defiant community of "tech-no's" who are perfectly pleased with not being so easily accessible to others.
Some of those individuals Kornblum writes about don't need e-mail to conduct their personal or professional lives. In many cases they work for themselves, often in creative endeavors. Others have retired and don't have a need to be too caught up in being connected. A handful are even teens, who just aren't that interested in "Facebook this" and "You Tube that."
In most cases, tech-no's are not trying to live in the dark ages. They just realize they may not NEED all that connectivity. What could they possible covet more? A little peace and, in turn, a lot of bliss.
My sister Sheri is one such individual. Although she has had her own business for the past 15 years, because it is a more creative endeavor she doesn't use a computer, e-mail or the internet on a daily basis. In the last six months, she has finally launched a website for her home decor business, www.sewsheri.com. And when she leaves town for a few days, she makes sure the answering machine is in the "off" position, so she won't be stressed out by an endless stream of messages and work projects when she returns.
But again, it is the concept of need -- a prioritization of what is actually necessary vs. cluttered, fast-paced confusion -- that defines the tech-no crowd. And sometimes, there can even be a little envy amongst those who are part of the Blackberry generation towards those who live a simpler, disconnected life.
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