Kicking the habit

I did it. Managed a whole week without emails, mobile phone calls, TV, radio, newspapers – and blogging. I missed an FA Cup final and a European Cup final – but missed them less than I would have expected since something else replaced these displacement activities. Life.

Sicily manages to be simultaneously in the middle and on the edge. (The Mediterranean is literally the sea in the middle of the land.) While the econonomy is pre-industrial in its emphasis on agriculture, there’s no lack of communications and news media. I chose to ignore them.

The Soap Opera was life on the street: in Palermo the plot’s ceaselessly dramatic. Conversation was with friends (and strangers too). Gossip was about people we know, not about celebrities.

This is how people have always lived, and how most people on the planet still lead their daily lives. Mass media and participatory media (and public relations, too) come with urbanisation and industrialisation. I support the opportunities that come with greater education and wealth creation, but you can excuse me a sentimental end-of-vacation reflection on what we’ve lost. I’ll soon enough be reverting to type – as a news junkie.