Turn off, tune out and drop in to life Friday for the National Day of Unplugging, the sixth annual effort to encourage people to take the power out of technology.
For many people, it's almost inconceivable to go for a full 24 hours without using a smartphone, computer or tablet, but that's exactly what organizing nonprofit Reboot is going for on March 6-7, from sundown to sundown.
“I think it’s really important that people take control of their technology so that it doesn't control them,” Reboot's communications director Tanya Schevitz previously told NBC Bay Area. “This is an age of wonder and amazement with technology. But many people have lost the balance in their use of technology — so they no longer are able to sit alone and be comfortable with their thoughts."
More than 2,000 people signed up for the digital detox in San Francisco last year of an estimated 13,000 people nationwide who officially pledged online to unplug.
Former Facebook exec Randi Zuckerberg joined forces with Reboot at South by Southwest in 2014, handing out "cell phone sleeping bags," a cute message to tell people to put their phones to sleep.
There will be events around the Bay Area to mark the occasion, including all activities held in that time frame by San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. An Unplug SF party at Broadway Studios in San Francisco on March 6 features two stages of live music, arts and crafts, typewriters, board games and more analog activities. Admission is $30.
