When did you last take a Tech TimeOut

I've got my eyes glued to my smartphones twitter feed the majority of the time. If it's not twitter it's facebook or Family Guy (that new game is so addictive!) I can't even watch a movie without having a peek to see if I've any notifications.

Whilst mobile phones are awesome these days, it also makes it far too easy to be obsessed with the internet, or technology in general. My device to me is, essentially, an all singing all dancing life tool. I take pictures, I make videos, I bank, I surf the net, I blog, I shop, it's a personal mp3 player, oh and I'll occasionally call someone too. 

I'm not the only one, hubby is exactly the same. The worst thing is though, that Carson is becoming this way. If he's not on his ipad, he's on the ipod (which can alao get on the internet anyway!). All too often are we, as a family,  sat in our family lounge... in silence playing with our tech individually. Well no more!


The Tech Timeout challenge started by Foresters encourages families to take a daily break from technology. Participating families are encouraged to disconnect from all things electronic with the goal of helping spouses, parents and children build stronger bonds, communicate more personally and get more involved in each other’s lives.

We've been sent a free TTO (Tech Timeout) Cage to have a play with and I'm hoping it will do just that - encourage us all to spend more time together and communicate better. 

tech timeout, carsonsmummy

Using the walls or bunk beds inside the jail-cell (as Carson called it) we placed both hubby's and my own phone (except to take a pic - you'll see my phone's not present. I told you already, I rely on it far too much!), Carson's ipod and, although ipads can't fit, both hub's and Carson's were placed underneath the cage, as if they were enclosed. 

Tech Timeout, Carsonsmummy

For that one hour we had one of the best laughs, as a family, that we'd had in a long long time.

We initially had an idea of making some Christmas decorations together but it went right out of the window. We ended up tickling each other, singing songs and just... being downright silly. Even Finley joined in with his high pitched excitable shrieks and star shaped moves!

That hour flew by. And it was brilliant.


Yup, all smiles in our house after our Tech Timeout (including me taking the picture!)

My aim this weekend is to go for 5 hours. We can be silly some more, make an indoor picnic lunch, play charades - then maybe get round to making those Christmas decorations! 

It's a bit of fun using the cage. It breaks the habit of mindlessly picking up or checking your phone, that's for sure!  Whether you're single with no kids or married with 12, can you honestly say you're not distracted by tech on a daily basis?

Take a Tech Timeout once in a while. It feels great.

To learn more about the initiative visit techtimeout.com

5 comments:

  1. This is a GREAT idea but isn't it sad that we need something like this? I am so fed up of being addicted to my phone. I love having the answer to every question at my fingertips but sometimes I just want to enjoy the moment and it's hard.
    Simone | Thirty Something OAP

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  2. I'm terrible at this! If I go to someone's house to visit them I tend to leave my phone at home so I don't get distracted and keep checking my emails! Eek

    Louise x

    Confessions of a Secret Shopper

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  3. Love this idea! I hate the fact that I'm a slave to my phone and only let my children use it as a treat at the weekend!

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  4. It is a great idea. One that would be hard for me to do but really fun to try.

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  5. Well done you! You're right, we all spend far too much time glued to our tech. This challenge reminds of The Guardian's Tech reporter a few years ago spending a whole on hols without any sort of tech tools and gadgets. She said it was a revelation! Tx

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