Lessons Learned Going Device Free #digcit

My Fenway Park History 

The world has changed drastically since I was a kid growing up in the bleachers at Fenway Park. Yesterday, I decided to take a step back in time and enjoy the game without any devices or electronic distractions, Be in the Moment: Going Device Free to Fenway Park.

Yesterday was a walk down memory lane as I remembered every game, all the players I’ve cheered on and most importantly, the people I’ve been with. Maybe you have to be from Boston to understand that baseball is like a religion here and the Park is just magical. Bart Giamatti, the Baseball Commissioner once said, “As I grew up, I knew that as a building (Fenway Park) was on the level of Mount Olympus, the Pyramids at Giza, the nation’s capitol, the czar’s Winter Palace, and the Louvre – except, of course, that is better than all those inconsequential places.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself and Jimmy Fallon’s character in Fever Pitch could have been just about anyone I grew up with. We might be called a little obsessive when it comes to our home team, but as Bostonians, we are known for our unwavering loyalty whether we are winning or losing and above all, we love our team.

Lessons Learned from #Unplugging4TheDay

So, yesterday I went to the Park device free with only a baseball glove in hand and let me tell you, I felt some serious JOMO (Joy Of Missing Out) as I relived my childhood through the eyes of my nine-year-old son. We took a picture at home before the game and then I went silent on all my social media feeds.

Maybe it’s because Fenway Park is my favorite place in the world, but yesterday, everything was more vibrant. The colors were popping, the smells were more aromatic, and the atmosphere was just simply electric. I felt myself snapping mental images, so I could revisit them in my memory like the pictures I have in my head sitting in the bleachers with my dad.

I realized how much I was taking in details like the lovely couple sitting in front of us who also appeared as if they came to the game device free. When I mentioned it, they said, “We took our pictures before the game started. We don’t need our phones, we enjoy being together.” Next to them was a woman scoring the game (on paper, not an app) and sitting behind us was a hockey family who had devices, but they were nowhere to be seen.

Is it important to go to the game device free? Absolutely not. Take your barfing rainbow snaps and selfies. Capture the moment, but please be mindful that you are at a live event and that you don’t have to watch the event through your device. This happens to be the Big Papi’s last season and although it would have been great to snap a picture or two, I have all the images I could possibly need, tucked neatly away in my memory bank. Yesterday, I loved singing the National Anthem, the 7th inning stretch (and “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”), being part of the rally at the bottom of the ninth, and most importantly, I loved being at the game with my son.

What was my big take away yesterday being device free? I should do it more often. Yesterday, I was not a prisoner to my device. No one virtually owned my attention or my time. I didn’t feel pulled in a million directions nor did I feel compelled that I “had to” check my phone, answer my email, upload my status, etc. I’ll end with a fabulous message from Adele who recently reminded a concert goer to stop recording her and to just enjoy the live concert.

I hope the next time someone asks me if I left my device at home on purpose that I’ll respond just as the couple did sitting in front of us yesterday.