That’s right—I went on vacation, but by the time you read this, I’ll be “home again, home again, jiggety jig.” In fact, I haven’t left for my hideaway in the Finger Lakes yet, but through the miracle of modern technology, this column will have been written and put to bed (it’s a newspaper thing) before I can say “Honey, I’m home!” 

And while we’re on the subject of technology, I have this to say: I’m about to eschew (think avoid, evade, escape and downright shun) electronic stimulation altogether for the next glorious social-media-free 10 days. 

Is that even doable in this hectic, sometimes frenzied existence that we call daily life? I’m about to find out and I’ll tell why.

Like many of you, I’m a bit of a social media fiend. For one thing, I use it for work, posting daily to the River Reporter’s Facebook page and Instagram account in order to share all of the local, local, local that the paper has to offer. Since I’m online often, I also keep my own personal social media accounts updated, and as many of you know, That Dog Named Gidget is truly a canine influencer with her own pages on both of those platforms. While it’s fun to think that the pooch is using her “iPawd” and “iBone” to accomplish all that, we both know that she doesn’t have opposable thumbs, and there must be a man behind the curtain somewhere. Hint: It’s me.

One of the draws (and there are many) for taking a time-out on Seneca Lake is that there’s no WiFi where I’m going. That’s right. In fact, there’s not a reliable signal for using my cell phone at all, which might sound scary to some, but I’m of a certain age, and can still recall a time when those pesky phones didn’t even exist, and somehow we all survived. 

Not only that, there’s research out there that suggests being tied to our phones is not necessarily healthy. 

Jessica A. Kent is one of the eggheads doing the legwork for me, and an article she wrote for the Harvard Summer School blog (www.harvard.edu) breaks it down: the good, the bad and the ugly.

On connection: “Social media was designed for people to connect with others,” Kent says, stating the obvious. “Today, the primary reason people use social media is still to keep up with friends and family.” Well, duh.

On community: “Social media offers a way for people to connect with affinity groups or communities,” Kent informed me. “This can be especially important to those who don’t have in-person access to those communities in their day-to-day lives.” 

That’s certainly true for me and many of the folks living in rural areas like ours. I often go online via social media to check in with other like-minded individuals, be it on dog-lovers’ pages, groups for photography buffs, fans of camping or UFO enthusiasts. Don’t judge! We all have hobbies. 

As for camping, that’s kinda, sorta what I’ll be doing (will have done?) on my vacation. While I’m not exactly roughing it in a tent or sleeping on the ground, I am staying in a fairly rustic (I can see sky through a hole in my bedroom wall) cabin overlooking the lake with all (well, most) of the necessities, sans the dreaded internet signal and intrusive online shopping ads to spoil my meditative experience. There’s plenty of time for shopping before the ho-ho-holidays commence.

My vacation cottage is far from the madding crowd (a reference to a line in a poem by Thomas Gray) and my stay can’t come soon enough. That’s because the hustle and bustle of summer fun in the sun has wiped me out, and I’m ready for a much needed break.

No news is good news: Social media is a primary way that people learn news, from updates via their friends to global news stories. “One out of every five individuals say they get their political news from social media.” So saith the aforementioned egghead.

I, for one, could use a break. Lately, I have found the news, both local and national, to be a brain drain (IMHO), and I plan to take daily sunrise walks on the beach with my dog and roast some marshmallows over the coals, with a visit to the magnificent Watkins Glen State Park thrown in for good measure. Waterfalls and scenic gorges abound in the Finger Lakes, one of the many reasons I refer to “Lady Seneca” as my home away from home. 

Social media’s impact on mental health: Uh oh. My shrink once referred to my mental health as a “slippery slope,” and I don’t think he was talking about me hiking the gorge at Watkins. “There have been a number of studies to confirm the correlation between social media use and the impacts on mental health,” Kent wrote, as if peeking into my psyche, “including increased depression, negative feelings resulting from comparison, higher anxiety, insomnia, impulsive behavior, and an increase in anxiety disorders.” Isn’t that great?

That’s where the siren song comes in. The Finger Lakes beckon with the promise of peace, quiet and tranquility. I’ll visit with childhood friends ‘round the campfire and likely skip a stone or two across the calm surface of the water that reflects my reverie. Being off the grid, if only for a too-brief stay, will keep me temporarily oblivious of the world’s ills, help me to breathe deeply, regroup and recharge. Just knowing that I’ll hear nothing but the waves lapping at the shore as I drift off to sleep without a phone propped up on my chest for 10 days gives me solace.

I know what you’re thinking: Why not just stay unplugged when I get home, if it’s so debilitating? 

That’s just not practical, all things considered—and some final thoughts from the Harvard grad make a good point: “Social media triggers the production of dopamine, a feel-good chemical that’s released whenever your brain makes a connection,” she wrote. “But social media is also designed to be addictive with elements like infinite scrolling, auto-play videos, notifications, sounds, bright colors, and other appealing features.” 

For the moment, the calming allure of all that I’ve described above is more far more of a draw than all of the videos and “appealing features” that social media can provide, but a quick glance at the first paragraph will remind you that by now, I’m already home again, home again, jiggity jig. Oops! I did it again.

Ask the Google: What’s an “egghead”?

In U.S. slang, “egghead” is an epithet used to refer to “a person who is highly academic or studious; an intellectual.” You know, like me. (Wink wink.)