Perpetually Plugged-In: Americans on Vacation

By Wendy Faunce

 

A study released by SDL, a company responsible for various “customer management technologies,” states that 60 percent of Americans abstain from personal technologies (i.e. laptops, phones, etc.) while on vacation. This seems like a decent percentage until compared with British holiday-goers. 74 percent of British travelers make a point to “unplug” as well as 69 percent of travelers around the world.

Though the article reports on ways in which companies attempt to effectively advertise to travelers, it also gives insight into the American idea of a vacation. SDL researched 4,000 participants apps used while traveling, influence of brand loyalty, and website usage. They concluded that American travelers used their phones and computers to look up road maps, make reservations, find places to eat, and other travel related things. 

However, if that were the main reason Americans used their phones and computers while on vacation, why would the rate of American usage be so different from the U.K.’s and the world rate? Do Americans get lost more often? Do we have a habit of making reservations after reaching our destinations? The most likely reason is that Americans, more than citizens of other counties, include recreation with electronic devices as part of our vacations. 

I’m not saying it’s bad to take a few days off and enjoy the services of Netflix and YouTube — doing so can be relaxing, educational, and enlightening. That is, if it is done correctly. I am saying it is bad to use mobile devices and computers to take mental vacations while on actual vacations. 

Americans seem to look forward to turning their brains off at the end of a busy workday or a draining day at school when in actuality, this should be when we turn our brains on. When we take mental vacations, like sitting in front of the TV with the Kardashians or mindlessly scrolling page after page through Facebook, we do not exercise our minds as we should and contribute nothing, not even to ourselves. Instead of mental vacations, we should focus more on intentionality. Have an intentional conversation and enjoy the presence of another person, intentionally marvel at the syntax of a favorite author, intentionally go on a run to improve the body and gain clearer thoughts. It has been said that Americans know amusement, not pleasure, and this statistic seems to agree.

What makes it even worse is that Americans undoubtedly do this while on vacation, while traveling places they’ve never been to or don’t visit very often. Brains should especially be turned on in new places. They should also be opened enough to fully enjoy a limited time at a vacation spot. Moral of the story: on vacation or not, live completely on purpose and as clichéd as this sounds, don’t be a statistic.