The Eastern Michigan University will hold an event emphasizing the over-dependence of today's youth on technology Wednesday, Feb 27, at the Multi-Cultural Lounge of King Hall on the Ypsilanti campus of Eastern Michigan University.
Media ecologists at Eastern Michigan University are running an Unplug EMU campaign to make students understand what they are missing in everyday life as they spend their lives glued to technology. This event is part of the National Day of Unplugging, which will be held on March 1, 2013.
Professor Christine Tracy's JRNL 379 Media Ecology class will be promoting awareness about technological dependence and encouraging the EMU and surrounding community to take a respite from tech devices, said the university in a press release.
As part of the promotional campaign the EMU is collecting pledges to unplug then posting them on a designated Facebook page.
Reboot, a national group of artists, conceived of the National Day of Unplugging four years ago to encourage hyper-connected people to ritualize a day of rest.
"We all need to wake up and become more aware of our mostly unconscious dependence on technology," said Tracy, in the media release. "A day-long respite is just the first step toward more enlightened use of our digital tools."
Tracy's Media Ecology class is drafting an "EMU Sabbath Manifesto" and chalking out ways and means to pave way for the campus to enjoy and appreciate the community building that comes from unplugging.
"It is exciting and important for us to get a glimpse at who and what we could become individually and collectively when we abandon technology and put down our devices - even for a day," added Tracy.
The Unplug EMU event is sponsored by the Journal of Narrative Theory, EMU's Division of Communications and Eastern's Department of English, Language and Literature, said the university.
