Tobago Cays in the Grenadines
When I left home to travel for two years I was determined to leave behind anything that I thought was unnecessary, this included technology. Leaving a job as a programmer I wanted to get away from staring at a monitor all day, I wanted to spend some time off the grid. I ditched the computer, mobile phone and picked up a guidebook and traditional old travel journal.
I was surprised even back in 2006 how many people traveled with a laptop to developing countries, to me it seemed unnecessary for people to have the worry of keeping it safe and the weight of carrying it around. Today traveling with technology is much more common in these countries as we become attached to being constantly connected to the web. This is why I was intrigued when I came across an interesting digital detox campaign by the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism authority.
Digital Detox
Their campaign (twitter hashtag #detechsvg) is encouraging people to visit the country and leave the smart phones, laptops etc at the door. For those that are tired of technology, of constantly monitoring and checking messages, this holiday seems like it could be an ideal escape. The “Digital Detox” holiday asks guests to hand over gadgets and it even comes with a life coach that will help them switch off from the technology each day.
“New research shows that nearly half of us feel so tied down by technology we can’t let an email or text pass us by, and have to respond to it. The constant need to keep checking messages and to monitor different websites, can lead you to distraction. It’s hard to just sit and focus on one thing.” – St. Vincent and Grenadines Tourism Authority
How would travel bloggers cope?
Personally I do find it difficult to discontent and to leave the technology behind but I try to be offline as much as possible when I have the free time.
I thought the “digital detox” concept was an interesting idea but wondered just what would happen if a group of travel bloggers found themselves in St. Vincent and the Grenadines being asked to hand over their smart phones and laptops? How would they cope with going cold turkey? No Twitter, Facebook, Google +, WordPress or Foursquare for a week or two? How would you cope as a travel blogger or have you gone off the grid before whilst traveling?
You can reach the St. Vincent and Grenadines Tourism Authority on twitter – @DiscoverSVG.
Photo by ctsnow.
