Print Article for the National Catholic Register

Culture of Life

Cell Phone-Less Conversation

Facts of Life

BY The Editors

August 29-September 11, 2010 Issue | Posted 8/20/10 at 1:45 PM

NCRegister.com blogger Danielle Bean commented recently on New York Times columnist Bob Herbert’s “Tweet Less, Kiss More.”

“In recent months, concern about our overly ‘connected’ culture has been a common theme among columnists in Catholic circles as well as secular ones. We text, we surf, we chat, we tweet. But do we really connect with one another? Are we fostering meaningful human relationships?” Bean asks, then quotes Herbert’s column: We need to reduce the speed limits of our lives. We need to savor the trip. Leave the cell phone at home every once in awhile. Try kissing more and tweeting less. And stop talking so much. Listen.

“Yes, we do need to slow down,” Bean blogged. “And I think there’s no time like summertime to take advantage of opportunities to relax a bit and break away from the routine — especially with our families.

“Some Catholic families I know observe ‘unplugged’ Sundays. They avoid using phones, television, computers or video games on Sundays.”