Shlain - 24/6: the power of unplugging one day a week

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Praise for 24/6

24/6 reminds us of what we get from taking a break rather than what we give up. Tiffany Shlain is a twenty-first-century Marshall McLuhan, reminding us that having the best of both worlds is not getting consumed by one.

Jean Rogers, author of Kids Under Fire

Shlain delivers a moving family story, documenting the connections that make the need for the Shabbat important in the first place.

Sherry Turkle, author of Reclaiming Conversation and Alone Together

She convinced me... that a day of disconnection is a path toward reconnection to the rest of our lives.

Vint Cerf, vice president and chief Internet evangelist at Google and cofounder of the Internet Society

Tiffany Shlain is a digital philosopher for our time. 24/6 proposes a simple but radical change in the power dynamic between humans and the Web. I, as a pediatrician, live it and recommend it as a best-parenting and best-living practice to the families I serve.

Michael Rich, associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and director and founder of the Center on Media and Child Health

For decades the promise of automationgiving people more leisure timehas been a distant dream. The reality is quite the reverse. We may well need to relearn the art of leisure or how to fill more of our time with enriched personal and social relations. Tiffany Shlains book is a much needed guide for how to start on this path.

Marina Gorbis, author of The Nature of the Future

I dont know how Tiffany Shlain does it. First the prize-winning movies, now an amazing book outlining a human way to manage our digital lifestyle. Like Tiffany, we all need to go 24/6. Its a great way to seize back control from our digital overlords.

Andrew Keen, bestselling author of How to Fix the Future

24/6 is a joy to read, from its compelling argument for a day of rest to its bonus challah bread recipe. Like the braided challah, Tiffany Shlain weaves together her intriguing personal story, practical advice, and research wisdom to show why taking a weekly tech break is so rejuvenatingand can fuel a healthy, meaningful life.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter, bestselling author of Confidence

Tiffany Shlain provides much needed sanity in our data frenzied world. Do yourself a favor. Read this book and take back your life.

Stephen Balkam, founder and CEO, Family Online Safety Institute

Gallery Books

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Copyright 2019 by Tiffany Shlain

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Gallery Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Gallery Books hardcover edition September 2019

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Interior design by Michelle Marchese

Jacket design by John Vairo

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.

ISBN 978-1-9821-1686-6

ISBN 978-1-9821-1688-0 (ebook)

To my parents, and Ken, Odessa, and Blooma, my truest sources of connectivity

Before living 24/6, I was on screens 24/7. While I loved the power of having the world at my fingertips, I felt powerless against the allure of the device in my hand. Screens both consumed most of my time and made me lose track of it. It was hard to focus while jacked into this primal-urge network that was constantly pulling me away from being present. Most important, I felt like I wasnt paying enough attention to the people I loved who were right in front of me.

Then, ten years ago, within days, my father left this world and my daughter entered it, and all I wanted to do was end the nonstop distractions and slow time down. I needed a revolution to transform the situation, and remarkably, I found it.

My husband, Ken, and I started a practice of turning off all screens and unplugging from digital life for a full day, every week, for what we call our Technology Shabbat. Going offline one day a week for nearly a decade with our daughters has felt like an epiphany on how to fill the day with the best parts of life, and a radical act of protection against the always-on, always-available world.

Even though Im Jewish and a mother, Im not here to make you feel guilty (or become Jewish). I just want to share a practice that has improved my life in every way: a twenty-first-century interpretation of the ancient Jewish ritual of a weekly day of rest. It can work for anyone, from any background or belief, whether single, with a partner, or with kids. As concerns about the effects of excessive tech use on our individual well-being, our relationships, and our democracy come to a head, its never felt more urgent to share this idea.

Living 24/6 feels like magic, and heres why: it seems to defy the laws of physics, as it both slows down time and gives us more of it. I laugh a lot more on that day without screens. I notice everything in greater detail. I sleep better. It strengthens my relationships and makes me feel healthier. It allows me to read, think, be more creative, and reflect in a deeper way. Each week I get a full reset. Afterward, Im much more productive and efficient, with positive effects that radiate out to the other six days. It even helps renew my appreciation for all that I have access to online, giving me that Wow, the Internet realization fresh each week. Who would have thought technology could be more potent in its absence?

A weekly day without screens improves our familys lives, too. Our daughters, Odessa (sixteen) and Blooma (ten), have done this practice most of their lives, and its shaped how they interact with technology in extremely beneficial ways. They enjoy their time off screens and look forward to it. It feels like a vacation every week. We look forward to it with the same anticipation, and it provides that same feeling of deep relaxation we get when we go away. And because it expands your sense of time, it makes your day off feel like two days in one. Going screen-free once a week is like having a metaphysical remote control, with a pause button for the 24/7 world, that turns your life back on .