Can you survive for 24 hours without your computer?
That's the question being posed by Canadian non-profit organisation, Shutdown Day. The project, founded in early 2007 by Denis Bystrov and Ashutosh Rajekar is designed to "get people to think about how their lives have changed with the increasing use of the home computer, and whether or not any good things are being lost because of this", says the official Shutdown Day website.
In 2007, more than 65,000 people participated in the campaign by actually shutting down their computers for 24 hours on the 24th of March. This year, Shutdown Day will take place on May 3rd, and we ask our largely tech-dependant readers, will you be taking part by powering down?
Fortunately for businesses everywhere, Shutdown Day happens to fall on a Saturday. You needn't therefore contemplate using Shutdown Day as an excuse to avoid work. The idea behind Shutdown Day is to get people away from their screens and involved in other activities, namely venturing into the great outdoors.
Michael Taylor, the original partner in the idea of Shutdown Day, says:
"I certainly could not and would not want to live without my computer. However, I am often drawn into spending hours chatting on MSN, simply because my friends are online instead of socialising face to face. I am often too busy to cook a proper dinner, because I want to see the latest news on digg.com or the latest YouTube video. I know parents who are so addicted to the computer that they spend little time with their children, and I also know children who do not spend time with their parents because they are always using the computer. We are not preaching to anyone to turn off their computers. We are just suggesting that people might like to take part in this experiment, and see what happens."
What do you think dear readers? Is Shutdown Day a good idea? Will you be using the day as an opportunity to power down all your tech-equipment and pursue other activities? Do you think Shutdown Day will highlight the need for energy saving, and if so, do you believe we need more Shutdown Days? Share your thoughts in the HEXUS forums.
Official website: ShutdownDay.org