Analog U: Disconnect to reconnect

Those tiny, powerful computers we carry in our pockets have, in a few short years, changed the way we interact with world.

“Our devices are awesome, but increasingly they are an extension of our every moment … they are an extension of us,” said Lisa Freinkel, vice provost for undergraduate studies.

That’s why Frienkel’s office created Analog U, a program intended to encourage students and the campus community to live healthy, reflective and productive lives in a world saturated in digital technology.

Students will have a chance to take a pledge to disconnect from their devices, even if just for an hour or two, by visiting Analog U during Earth Day activities, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 22, on Collier Lawn.

That might mean turning off the smart phone and writing a letter — with pen and paper — or meditating, or knitting, or planting seeds, or taking a campus tree tour.

The point is not to reject our devices but to get a better sense of where they fit in our lives, Frienkel said, by taking “a little tech holiday.”