Forget you, Facebook

Ta-ta, Twitter. Bye-bye, BlackBerry.

Let the unplugging begin.

There's been a lot of talk lately about how technology is short-circuiting our brains, making us more isolated, shallower, so unaware of our immediate physical surroundings that we walk out in front of cars -- which are likely as not being driven by people in their own technological haze. Surreptitiously texting, maybe, or fiddling with a GPS.

It's exhausting, this constant empty connectedness, the grueling race to read the latest tweet or Facebook feed. Now researchers say all this information may actually be leading us to make even poorerchoices than we otherwise would have.

This Daily Beast post by Sharon Begley explains the science of the thing, but the upshot is that, yes, access to more information leads to better decisions -- to a point. After that, our brains just give up:

“They start making stupid mistakes and bad choices because the brain region responsible for smart decision-making has essentially left the premises."

The constant flow of information also distorts our idea of what's important, she writes, because our brains automatically give more weight to information that is new. It's true no matter how brilliant you are or how proficient a multitasker, she writes. It's just how we're wired:

It isn't only the quantity of information that knocks the brain for a loop; it's the rate. The ceaseless influx trains us to respond instantly, sacrificing accuracy and thoughtfulness to the false god of immediacy.

Enter groups like Offlining, Inc. and the Sabbath Manifesto which are challenging the rest of us to reclaim the idea of a day of rest and community. "We decided to strike a blow for mastery, with the aim of tilting the balance and putting humanity back on top where we belong," the guys behind Offlining wrote on their Web site. The folks behind Sabbath Manifesto describe it like this:

The Sabbath Manifesto was developed in the same spirit as the Slow Movement, slow food, slow living, by a small group of artists, writers, filmmakers and media professionals who, while not particularly religious, felt a collective need to fight back against our increasingly fast-paced way of living. The idea is to take time off, deadlines and paperwork be damned.

In the Manifesto, we've adapted our ancestors' rituals by carving out one day per week to unwind, unplug, relax, reflect, get outdoors, and get with loved ones.

You're probably thinking something along the lines of: "What, are they crazy? I'm far too busy to take a day off out of seven." So, how about a day out of 365?

The

National Day of Unplugging started at sundown tonight. It runs until sundown on Saturday. Twenty-four hours to put friend feeds on hold and connect with flesh-and-blood friends, neighbors and loved ones. A day to look up from the screen and remember what's important: Where you are. Who you're with.