Why I returned my Ipad

[static]

A little more than a week after buying the iPad, I returned it to Apple. The problem wasn't the iPad exactly, though it has some flaws. The problem was me.

I like technology, but I'm not an early adopter. I waited for the second-generation iPod, the second-generation iPhone, and the second-generation MacBook Air.

But the iPad was different. So sleek. So cool. So transformational. And, I figured, since it's so similar to the iPhone, most of the kinks would already be worked out.

So at 4 PM on the day the 3G iPad was released, for the first time in my life, I waited in line for two hours to make a purchase.

I set up my iPad in the store because I wanted to make sure I could start using it the very moment I bought it. And use it I did. I carried it with me everywhere; it's so small and thin and light, why not bring it along?

I did my email on it, of course. But I also wrote articles using Pages. I watched episodes of Weeds on Netflix. I checked the news, the weather, and the traffic. And, of course, I proudly showed it to, well, anyone who indicated the least bit of interest. (That could be a whole post in itself. We proudly show off new purchases as though simply possessing them is some form of accomplishment. Why? I didn't create the iPad. I just bought one.)

It didn't take long for me to encounter the dark side of this revolutionary device: it's too good.

It's too easy. Too accessible. Both too fast and too long-lasting. Certainly there are some kinks, but nothing monumental. For the most part, it does everything I could want. Which, as it turns out, is a problem.

Sure I might want to watch an episode of Weeds before going to sleep. But should I? It really is hard to stop after just one episode. And two hours later, I'm entertained and tired, but am I really better off? Or would it have been better to get seven hours of sleep instead of five?

The brilliance of the iPad is that it's the anytime-anywhere computer. On the subway. In the hall waiting for the elevator. In a car on the way to the airport. Any free moment becomes a potential iPad moment.

The iPhone can do roughly the same thing, but not exactly. Who wants to watch a movie in bed on an iPhone?

So why is this a problem? It sounds like I was super-productive. Every extra minute, I was either producing or consuming.

But something — more than just sleep, though that's critical too — is lost in the busyness. Something too valuable to lose.

Boredom.

Being bored is a precious thing, a state of mind we should pursue. Once boredom sets in, our minds begin to wander, looking for something exciting, something interesting to land on. And that's where creativity arises.

My best ideas come to me when I am unproductive. When I am running but not listening to my iPod. When I am sitting, doing nothing, waiting for someone. When I am lying in bed as my mind wanders before falling to sleep. These "wasted" moments, moments not filled with anything in particular, are vital.

They are the moments in which we, often unconsciously, organize our minds, make sense of our lives, and connect the dots. They're the moments in which we talk to ourselves. And listen.

To lose those moments, to replace them with tasks and efficiency, is a mistake. What's worse is that we don't just lose them. We actively throw them away.

"That's not a problem with the iPad," my brother Anthony — who I feel compelled to mention is currently producing a movie called My Idiot Brother — pointed out. "It's a problem with you. Just don't use it as much."

Guilty as charged. It is a problem with me. I can't not use it if it's there. And, unfortunately, it's always there. So I returned it. Problem solved.

But it did teach me something about the value of boredom. And I'm far more conscious now of using those extra moments, the in-between time, the walking and riding and waiting time, to let my mind wander.

Around the same time I returned my iPad, I noticed that my eight-year-old daughter Isabelle was unbelievably busy from the moment she got home from school to the moment she went to bed. Bathing, reading, playing guitar, eating dinner, doing homework, she was non-stop until I rushed her off to bed. Once in bed she would try to talk to me but, worried about how little sleep she was getting, I would shush her, urging her to go to sleep.

We have a new ritual now, and it really has become my favorite part of the day. I put her to bed 15 minutes earlier than before. She crawls into bed and, instead of shushing her, I lie next to her and we just talk. She talks about things that happened that day, things she's worried about, things she's curious or thinking about. I listen and ask her questions. We laugh together. And our minds just wander.

http://blogs.hbr.org/schrage/2010/06...ould-save.html

[Razor Ramon HG]

http://blogs.hbr.org/bregman/2010/06...d-my-ipad.html

Correct link.

[skyxx]

Before I read the article, I thought to my self. This dude must have returned the iPad because it can't load flash websites. I was sort of disappointed when I read the whole thing. Good story article though.

[TRD Rs200]

good article never the less

[shawn79]

i aint reading all that shit

cliffs?

[fliptuner]

I love that I get to let my mind go while I'm working.

[shenmecar]

i agree that the moments before i fall asleep, i do let my mind wander and try to make sense of things that happened during the day.
Posted via RS Mobile

[jmvdesign]

it's unfortunate what technology is doing to our society with numerous technological distractions bombarding us as one of the many downfalls. i drove to work today and saw a group of students waiting at the bus stop. every single one of them looked like drones with their head down looking at their gadget/cellphone.

[hotjoint]

Originally Posted by jmvdesign

it's unfortunate what technology is doing to our society with numerous technological distractions bombarding us as one of the many downfalls. i drove to work today and saw a group of students waiting at the bus stop. every single one of them looked like drones with their head down looking at their gadget/cellphone.

yup, especially computers and pc gaming. Its rare to see kids out and about playing sports or whatever. Its usually drugs/alchol & gaming these days. Shit is so sad

[Volvoman]

Originally Posted by skyxx

Before I read the article, I thought to my self. This dude must have returned the iPad because it can't load flash websites. I was sort of disappointed when I read the whole thing. Good story article though.

I was hoping he's tell us all about how his life got flipped turned outside down and all about how he became the Prince of Bel Air

[fliptuner]

^^^ Time to think that up = no Ipad.^^^

lol

[taylor192]

Originally Posted by shawn79

i aint reading all that shit

cliffs?

Buy an iPad, it is perfect for your simple mind.

[Jsunu]

Originally Posted by shawn79

i aint reading all that shit

cliffs?

Come on man, it isn't even that long.

[taylor192]

Originally Posted by jmvdesign

it's unfortunate what technology is doing to our society with numerous technological distractions bombarding us as one of the many downfalls. i drove to work today and saw a group of students waiting at the bus stop. every single one of them looked like drones with their head down looking at their gadget/cellphone.

This is why I have no apps bought for my BB.

When friends/coworkers show me their iPhones they showoff the various apps for gaming and general time wasting which never impress me. I am busy enough, I don't need more gadgets to fill my spare time.

When they show me the "tip calculator" app, a little part inside me dies. They cannot even add 15% to a bill without relying on an app.

This is why I carry a book, not an iPhone or iPad. It fits somewhere inbetween them in size and weight, I don't worry about dropping it, smashing it, or getting it (too) wet, and costs a fraction.

[InvisibleSoul]

I've had an epiphany along the same line of thought before.

Technology certainly has made things more efficient and accessible, but in some ways too much so.

There's just way too many things that CAN be done now. I mean even take the example of RevScene... I checked new posts here a few times a day... and say that takes up an average of 20 minutes a day. In a year, that's 7300 minutes, or about five days worth of time spent just on this one forum. Do I gain anything from being active here? Well, sure... but could I live without it? Absolutely. I COULD use those five days in a year for a lot of other things instead.

Back in the days before smartphones, laptops, or even computers were everywhere, there just wasn't nearly as many ways to occupy our time as there is now. It seems in this day and age, there are just too many things I want to do, but not enough time to do all of them.

[Gumby]

Originally Posted by shawn79

i aint reading all that shit

cliffs?

Instant gratification. That's all you want eh?

[rsx]

Grown man gets tempted too easily with technology. Spends too much time on the ipad. Returns it. Happier because he has more 'free' time with his daughter. What an idiot.

[tool001]

Pilot project is in the works in vancouver middle school, with help of Apple, where ipads will be distributed among students, and notes, books, graphs, slides will be automatically downloaded to the ipad for each class.

pure digital generation.

[shawn79]

i read it, im just

[jtanner_]

Definitely a good read... really makes you think... also with what invisiblesoul said...I probably spend more time than that browsing on rs/cl and other sites combined..

[Tegra_Devil]

this is true....RS/craigslist...that is my internet life...with the occasional firefighting webpage

[underscore]

Originally Posted by taylor192

When they show me the "tip calculator" app, a little part inside me dies. They cannot even add 15% to a bill without relying on an app.

Anyone who gets a tip calculator application should not be allowed to breed

[Bouncing Bettys]

as a non cell phone owner, this story pleases me. There are many moments I am with a technology slave I just can't help but notice how addicted they are.

Once place I love to go and escape for a few days is my family cottage. There is no internet and no tv. The only connection to the outside world is the radio. If the money was invested we could have those things but we choose not to. I can spend a week out there and enjoy every minute. Without technology I am forced to find things to keep me entertained. I go boating, hiking, play cards, boardgames, read books, go swimming, or even find projects to do to maintain or improve the property and I have no trouble staying active. There is a real sense of community out there with all our neighbours that I simply do not experience at home. Neighbours having dinner together, helping eachother with projects, neighbourhood kids all playing together, etc. Yet when I bring a technology slave friend out to the cottage, they can tolerate no more than a 3day weekend before they feel they have to get back to civilizaton.

Its the one on one interaction I miss the most. I get annoyed when I am with a friend who can't turn his cell phone off and has to answer every call. Here I am just sitting there with nothing to do but listen to him talk to someone he could have easily talked to after hanging out with me. Or one of my female friends I am trying to get to know better by hanging out with her and her friends. If its just the two of us and we are waiting for the rest, rather than make conversation she burries herself in her cell phone, texting her friends constantly asking about their progress in getting there and then telling me as if I needed to know.

I yell at that Rogers ad where the two women are sitting at the beach and the one is telling her friend about how she can keep tabs on all her friends instantly. How about put the fucking phone down and enjoy the lovely day at the beach or let your friend enjoy her book.

[fishing666]

what a garbage article!
it doesn't talk trash about ipad and approves of boredom..wut? lemme tell u something, u can enjoy any moment at any time and any where. you don't have to be bored or have an ipad to enjoy it. godamn i hate these philosophical garbage articles.

[orange7]

I still want an ipad.