Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Vine, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, Pinterest. There are so many ways for us to be connected. Perhaps sometimes we need a break from it all. I am trying to unplug myself from society by giving up all social media for 40 days.

Let’s just say, it’s a day by day struggle. Yesterday was better than today.

We’re obsessed with social media. According to The eBusiness Guide, Facebook has about 900,000,000 monthly visitors; Twitter — 310,000,000; YouTube –165,000,000; Pinterest –150,000,000; Tumblr –110,000,000; Instagram –85,000,000. Snapchat has about 400,000,000 snaps per day.

This year on March 7^th and 8^th the fifth annual National Day of Unplugging became a worldwide movement. During this twenty-four hour window, participants turned off their phones and other electronic devices to reconnect with the world around them. This is what gave me the idea for my Lenten efforts.

The sponsors estimated that over 13,000 people took the pledge to unplug for 24 hours. According to NBC, the unofficial participation rate was estimated in the tens of thousands.

Unplugging and staying unplugged is hard for me. I am so used to my constant access to the world; when it was cut off from me, I felt lost. I think this feeling is very common. We don’t talk to people face-to-face; we message them. We don’t ask people about their vacations; we have already seen the pictures.

Remember the panic you felt the last time you went for your cellphone in your pocket and found it empty?

Whether people want to believe it or not, technology can cause harm. According to The Huffington Post, technology use can reduce focus and productivity, increase stress and disrupt sleep.

My friends were horrified by the idea of unplugging. When I told them about my plan, most of the responses I received were something along the lines of, “That is a good idea but I would never be able to do that.”

Junior, Jordan McLain says she is on her phone most of the day, unless she is doing homework. I suspect she is in the majority.

Some may call our generation overly dependent on our technology, but it does tell us about the world. Maybe we need to log off and go see the world for ourselves.

English teacher, Ms. Nicole Cafarelli said, “ I support the idea that we all need to step back and unplug for a bit. I believe that we are missing out on experiencing the world around us when we are so singularly focused on our technology.”

Science teacher, Mr. Scott Stair agrees our society is too “overwired.”

Lancer Media polled students to see how long they would be able to live without their technology. Nearly half said they could go without their devices for more than 24 hours if they needed to. One-fifth said they couldn’t breathe without their technology, and 32% were somewhere in between.

The irony is that the National Unplug campaign involves unloading photos about what people plan to do while unplugged. Participants held up the official sign, “I UNPLUG TO _______.”  Some creative answers were “I unplug to reset.” “I unplug to be in the moment.” “I unplug to know myself.” “I unplug to make pineapple rice.”

The National Day of Unplugging official website listed alternative family activities like creating a scrapbook or family tree and creating a yard wishing tree by having family members write their wishes for the upcoming year and tie them to a tree.