Everyone commutes. Whether it's to and from work, while traveling or throughout the neighborhood they live in - people commute through car, train, bus and other options all week long.
Look on any bus or train these days and more than half of individuals are drowning in their smartphones. Hearing "I was lost in the world of Instagram and missed my stop" is normal to hear from people my age. Just on the platform the other day, every single person waiting was on their phone.
On my daily commute to work, I often struggle with whether commuting is a time to enjoy some quiet time to yourself (the L is pretty silent in the morning) or connect with your devices- whether you're reading, on social media or email.
The desire to connect can sometimes dictate a commute. Similar to the New York subway, the red line of the Chicago L is underground, so cell service is minimal. This is different than the brown line, which although slower, is above ground, or the bus which follows the lakefront.
I've found myself guilty of doubling my commute time to take an alternate transit option when I need to make phone calls or be part of a group texting conversation. The amount of times I did this made me stop and think, is it worth it? How bad is it really to DISconnect?
The next morning, I timed how long you are out of phone service on the red line. There is a whopping total of 10 minutes underground from the work subway stop to the above-ground stop I live at.
That small number, 10, is in my head every time I'm making a transit decision. Is someone going to die if I wait 10 minutes to send a response to a text? Will this friend freak out if I call them back when I get off the L? Will I survive without checking Facebook, Instagram, Timehop and Twitter on the way to work? Will 10 minutes of silence kill you? The answers: no. A commute, if anything, IS the time of the day to disconnect from devices and ponder to yourself.
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| The L platform for the Red Line |
The desire to connect can sometimes dictate a commute. Similar to the New York subway, the red line of the Chicago L is underground, so cell service is minimal. This is different than the brown line, which although slower, is above ground, or the bus which follows the lakefront.
I've found myself guilty of doubling my commute time to take an alternate transit option when I need to make phone calls or be part of a group texting conversation. The amount of times I did this made me stop and think, is it worth it? How bad is it really to DISconnect?
The next morning, I timed how long you are out of phone service on the red line. There is a whopping total of 10 minutes underground from the work subway stop to the above-ground stop I live at.
That small number, 10, is in my head every time I'm making a transit decision. Is someone going to die if I wait 10 minutes to send a response to a text? Will this friend freak out if I call them back when I get off the L? Will I survive without checking Facebook, Instagram, Timehop and Twitter on the way to work? Will 10 minutes of silence kill you? The answers: no. A commute, if anything, IS the time of the day to disconnect from devices and ponder to yourself.
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