Gen Y – am I? Why indeed? Why do I spend so much time glued to my iPhone, checking and updating Facebook? Why do I tell so many my thoughts and feelings? Why do I capture photos to instantly upload and ‘share’? Why do I need to check my emails constantly?

Do you ever get the feeling like you just want to opt out? I don’t want to twitter, I don’t want a kindle, I don’t want Google Docs. I’m happy with the level of technology I have to contend with in my life. But if I stop ‘upgrading’ will I lose touch? Will I be forever trapped in this technological point in time, unable to catch up? Am I simply reaching an age where I not only want to not only remember, but stick to, ‘the good old days’? Are the changes in our society resulting from the technology boom causing us to feel more connectedand yet more isolated than ever before? We are feeling our way through being exposed in an unprecedented manner. Sometimes, I feel like we are just coping with the world we have created.

I am going to conduct a social experiment to try to discover how I feel about the 21^st century and the impact it has on my life. I’m going to scale back the Gen Y influence – one day at a time.

I am going back to basics. I am going to try things I have never learnt. I am going to take time to do things ‘the old way’ and hopefully re-discover the beauty in the simple.

My partner and I moved to a little place they call the village in the rainforest a year ago. It is a beautiful place to live and has a historical reputation as a hippy town. I still work in the city so daily I commute from hippy life to city life.

We haven’t had TV since we moved here and although it was partly due to poor reception we made a conscious decision not to get cable. The enormous benefits from not having TV – that I did not realise were even missing – can not be underestimated. It got me thinking… what else do I have in my life that, whilst I feel is a good thing, actually detracts from my life?

I anticipate both positive and negative outcomes, apart from that I don’t really know where it is going to lead. All I do know – I am excited, and looking forward to the journey.