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Technology Shabbats
For nearly over 15 years, I have turned off all screens for one day a week for what my family and I call our “Technology Shabbats,” or “Tech Shabbats.” Every Friday night, we all unplug from all of our technologies and don’t turn them on again until Saturday evening. Unplugging for a day makes time slow down and makes me feel more present with my family. I not only appreciate this quality time with them, but it has also made me appreciate technology in a whole new way. By Saturday night we can’t wait to plug back in.
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The idea of taking one day a week off from responsibilities and work is a very, very, very old idea. In our 24/7 information overload world, it’s a good time to bring this idea back. I’ve explored this idea in many of our films and in my writing.
You can see my short films about how powerful Technology Shabbats have been for us below.
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Simon & Schuster’s Gallery Books will be publishing my book on the subject “24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week” on September 24th, 2019. All info on the book and pre-order information can be found here.
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Below are films where I explored ideas around technology shabbats.
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First in my feature documentary Connected: An Autoblogography about Love, Death & Technology 2011
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All of these 5 min episodes from our Original Series “The Future Starts Here:
“Technology Shabbats” (5 mins)
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March 1, 2013 Harvard Business Review- Tech’s Best Feature: The Off Switch, by Tiffany Shlain
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Articles about my Technology Shabbats:
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KSL.com Addiction to the internet has put humans in a ‘Frankenstein moment,’ Sundance speaker says
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Religion News Science The science of Sabbath: How people are rediscovering rest—and claiming its benefits
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Forward – Do Yourself A Favor: Unplug This Shabbat
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New York Times – You’re Too Busy. You Need a ‘Shultz Hour.’
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On Being – Growing Up the Internet
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Greatist – This Woman Unplugs Every Saturday (and Will Convince You to Do the Same)
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Forward –Tiffany Shlain on the Web, Women and Unplugging for Shabbat
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Forbes – 9 Ways To Get Crazy Productive And Find Your Real Power
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Huffington Post – Filmmaker Tiffany Shlain Discusses Her Family’s ‘Technology Shabbat’ (VIDEO)
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Fast Company- Instead of a Digital Detox, Why Not Take a Weekly Tech Shabbat?
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Reading by Example- Most Memorable Blog Posts of the Year – 2013
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Martschenko Markenberatung- Technology Shabbat – My weekly break from the art
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Good.is: Connecting Broadly Won’t Replace the Importance of Connecting Deeply
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Baltimore Jewish Times: Lost in Translation
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JWeekly: In ‘crazybusy’ era of always being in touch, are we losing touch?
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Oregon Live: A Tech Sabbath offers a chance to unplug, recharge
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Huffington Post: National Day of Unplugging: Can You Spend 24 Hours Offline?
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Huffington Post: National Day Of Unplugging: A Family Dinner Table Talk
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Digital Journal: Exclusive Live Stream Event: Top Visionaries, Scientists Explore …
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Tech Cocktail: Webby Awards Founder Tiffany Shlain: “The Internet’s in its Toddler Years”
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Scientific American: The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: Why paper still beats screens