The winter of our disconnect : how three totally wired teenagers (and a mother who slept with her iPhone) pulled the plug on their technology and lived to tell the tale

290 Pages·2011·0.741 MB·English

by  Susan Maushart

» The Winter of Our
D I S C O N N E C T

How three totally WIRED TEENAGERS »
« (and a mother who slept with her iPhone)
PULLED THE PLUG on their technology »
and lived to TELL THE TALE
SUSAN MAUSHART

JEREMY P. TARCHER/PENGUIN
A MEMBER OF PENGUIN GROUP (USA) INC. NEW YORK
9781585428557_WinterOf_FM_pi-viii.indd iii 18/11/10 3:38 AM
9781585428557_WinterOf_FM_pi-viii.indd vi 18/11/10 3:38 AM
» The Winter of Our
D I S CO N N EC T

9781585428557_WinterOf_FM_pi-viii.indd i 18/11/10 3:38 AM
ALSO BY SUSAN MAUSHART
Sort of a Place Like Home
The Mask of Motherhood
Wifework: What Marriage Really Means
for Women
What Women Want Next
9781585428557_WinterOf_FM_pi-viii.indd ii 18/11/10 3:38 AM
» The Winter of Our
D I S C O N N E C T

How three totally WIRED TEENAGERS »
« (and a mother who slept with her iPhone)
PULLED THE PLUG on their technology »
and lived to TELL THE TALE
SUSAN MAUSHART

JEREMY P. TARCHER/PENGUIN
A MEMBER OF PENGUIN GROUP (USA) INC. NEW YORK
9781585428557_WinterOf_FM_pi-viii.indd iii 18/11/10 3:38 AM
JEREMY P. TARCHER/PENGUIN
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton
Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd,
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of
Penguin Books Ltd) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division
of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Center, Panchsheel Park, New
Delhi–110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division
of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg
2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Copyright © 2010 by Susan Maushart
Previously published in 2010 by Bantam Australia
First American edition published in 2011 by Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form with­
out permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.
Purchase only authorized editions.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Maushart, Susan, date.
The winter of our disconnect: how three totally wired teenagers (and a mother who slept with her iPhone) pulled the
plug on their technology and lived to tell the tale / Susan Maushart.—1st American ed.
p. cm.

ISBN 1-101-48488-8

1. Maushart, Susan—Family. 2. Information technology—Social aspects—Australia—Case studies. 3. Internet and
teenagers—Australia—Case studies. 4. Internet addicts—A ustralia—Case studies. 5. Alternative lifestyles—Australia—
Case studies. 6. Families—Australia—Case studies. I. Title.
HM851.M388 2011 2010033133

303.48'330994—dc22

book design by stephanie huntwork
Neither the publisher nor the author is engaged in rendering professional advice or services to the individual reader. The
ideas, procedures, and suggestions contained in this book are not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physi­
cian. All matters regarding your health require medical supervision. Neither the author nor the publisher shall be liable or
responsible for any loss or damage allegedly arising from any information or suggestion in this book.
While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of pub­
lication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publica­
tion. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party
websites or their content.
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» Contents

1 2
Introduction Who We Are, and Why
Power Trip:

1 We Pressed “Pause”
The Darkness Descends

9 33
3 4 5
Boredom for
My iPhone/Myself:
The Sound of One Hand

Beginners
Notes from a Digital Fugitive
Doing Homework

63 101 141
6 7 8
Loss of Facebook: Friending Eat, Play, Sleep The Return of the

the Old-fashioned Way 215 Digital Native

181 249
Afterword Notes Recommended

267 269 Reading

277
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For Christine L. Nystrom

and

Neil Postman (1931–2003)

I would like to extend thanks to the Institute of Advanced Studies at
the University of Western Australia, which provided a techno-haven for
writing this book.
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