So Steemit was (more or less) offline for about nine hours, from Thursday night and into part of Friday, due to a DDoS attack.
In no time at all, the FUD started circulating and it seems a lot of people started having "Steemit withdrawals."
Certainly, I missed "doing the rounds," but I went off and did other things instead. But the outage event did make me think about our relationship with technology.
Are You "Addicted" to Technology?
No technology? Go sailing!
I have touched on this topic before... concerning our addiction to technology and being plugged in at all times. I have noticed how people start "fidgeting" when they can't check their Facebook or email every 10-15 minutes.
I have even noticed it while people visit our small art gallery. My wife does short Tarot readings in the store on weekends... they only last 10-15 minutes... and once the person's reading is done, the first thing that happens is that the phone comes out and they "check messages."
Now I can understand some of that-- to a point. I actually have two online businesses and I am an active blogger. On the other hand, I have no issue putting up an "away message" and leaving my phone somewhere else for a day. Or two. A lot of people, however, don't.
Get in TOUCH With the Real World!
Anyway, when Steemit started "behaving badly," I went and did a bit of work in the garden, and I sat down and got started on some art projects I'd been meaning to work on.
No technology? Watch sunsets!
It's also fall and the colors of the leaves are changing, so I went outside with my camera (the kind that's NOT part of a phone!) for a while.
Doing these things reminded me that it's easy for us to "trap ourselves" in a pattern of being glued to our technology. Seems there's always "one more message," or "one more blog post" or "one more thing to research" that keeps us from opening our eyes enough to notice that there's an amazing sunset outside, or that our dog really would enjoy going for a walk or something else.
So even if it is hard for you to deliberately take technology breaks... at least take one when the technology actually breaks!
How about YOU? What did you do when Steemit was not available? Worry and refresh the page endlessly-- or did you just leave the tech behind and do something else? Do you think we're too dependent on technology and the Internet? Do you make a point of taking regular technology breaks? Leave a comment-- share your experiences and feedback-- be part of the conversation!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Published 20171007 13:40 PDT