The Idea Blog

In short, my name is Mark, and I’m a techno-addict. But after my airplane experience, I decided to do something about it. Thus began my “secular Sabbath” — a term I found floating around on blogs — a day a week where I would be free of screens, bells and beeps. An old-fashioned day not only of rest but of relief.

That’s the money paragraph in Mark Bittman’s piece in this morning’s New York Times. It caught my eye, sure, with the “my name is Mark” line. But I don’t think I found myself to be one of “them.” Yes, I’m an early adopter of what someone last night called “gidgets, gadgets and things.” My iPhone, Kindle and other devices give me away. But I don’t feel compelled to be checking in all the time; I’m not a slave to beeps and buzzes. I’m rarely on the phone; I receive fewer than four voice mails a day.

A “secular Sabbath” seems silly to me, like saying I won’t drive on Tuesdays or that I’ll turn off the air conditioning one day a week in August.

Anything can be abused. As my grandfather said, “‘All in moderation’ is all you need to know.”