In an essay for Middlebury Magazine last winter, I wrote the following:

“If all of my skills and interests exist in a digital sphere, what do I do if I don’t have access to the Internet, my iPod, or other gadgets? If the Internet crashes, what do I do? If all my important skills, documents, and general records of existence survive in some abstract computing cloud somewhere, what if the cloud disappears?”

Ironically, as I’m cognizant of striking a balance between digital and other activities in daily life, I’m also starting this blog.  This pulls me back to pixelated glow of the screen.  Not only do I feel too sedentary if I’m constantly on a screen, but I don’t feel productive in a wholesome sense of the word.  Been spending lots of time outside during this freakishly warm spring, building a new fence to contain my backyard hens, putting up trellises for ivy and blackberries, and experimenting with building pallet furniture.  My fiancee jokes (I think) that she might have to contain my recycled-product construction impulses before the house turns into a pallet museum.

 Are you concerned about striking a balance between what you do in the digital sphere versus other endeavors? 

Is this a question that people–and society as a whole–should be concerned about?