This blog is in English, but I make an exception for a documentary that has been broadcast in Netherlands by VPRO. A lot is in English, a lot in Dutch. Maybe one day there will be an English version, completely, or subtitled in English.
The documentary is named: “Offline als luxe”: “Being offline as a luxury”, and I will add some parts of the information from the page of VPRO-Tegenlicht, that will create a better idea about the title.
“Anytime, anywhere online. That sounds nice, but it has a downside. Loss of privacy, lack of concentration, less eye contact and even physical symptoms caused by allergy to digital signals. As digital networks advance, there are fewer and fewer places where you can really be alone. Being offline is a luxury. Where it it possible? Who desires to escape occasionally from smartphone and Wi-Fi signals, VPRO launches on May 3, the international White Spots App.
We are to up in our bedroom connected to the internet. It is the ambition of companies like Google and Facebook to connect the entire world, so we can always and everywhere be online. Google is going to work late this month with balloons in Sri Lanka, to provide the island nation of free WiFi. Down on earth more devices are communicating with each other via the Internet-of-Things. We are going to become “glass civilians” in a transparent house, living our entire life on a wireless infusion and monitoring via smartphones permanently. What does the shift to one hundred percent digital coverage of the entire planet really mean?
A small but growing group of people decides to disconnect from this being always connected, and examines ways to self-maintain control. What can we learn from them about life in the digital age?”Webpage: Tegenlicht ~ documentary: Offline als luxe
