Back to Basics?

I read this recent article and was pretty horrified that human contact is now considered a luxury!?!  At a time when technology seems to be the be-all, end-all, you still have the power to go "back to basics" and not succumb to all the techno-crap that keeps people on edge, isolated, hostile, even suicidal.  Decades ago most people didn't have the mechanisms or the means to get away from the people in their lives, these days, everyone seems to be tuned out--and tuned into their tech devices at the expense of their real social connections (online connections can feel real but they aren't the same as dealing with real, live people).  So getting back to basics may be the answer to the overwhelming, and sometimes overwhelmingly negative, impact of technology on today's society.

• Go out to dinner and DON'T use your cell phone or any other tech devices.  Actually talk to the people you are dining with, like the spouse and kids, instead of having each person glued to their screen.
• Cook an entire meal from scratch (like making the hamburger buns from scratch, grinding the meat for hamburgers, even making your own ketchup).  This is even more interesting if it is a group effort.
• Volunteer your time at senior centers, this is particularly fascinating as those folks there have decades of interesting stories to tell.  Or volunteer with kids to teach them there is more to life than "likes" from random internet strangers.  Or volunteer to help in a disaster area where people need the most assistance.
• Go for a walk.  A good way to connect to the environment is to actually experience being in your environment instead of speeding past it in the car.
• Swear off social media, or all technology, for the weekend.  It will take effort to fill the hours usually spent on Facebook or Reddit, but boredom can actually make you more creative.
• Go out in the wilderness for the weekend.  Getting away from it all can do wonders for your mental health.
• Attend community events, take a class...get out among people if you are feeling isolated.
• Grow a garden, have a pet...if you aren't feeling that isolated, sometimes talking to your pet or your flowers is a happy alternative to dealing with people.

If you want to survive this crazy world sometimes you need to make your own rules and do your own thing whether it is Instagram-worthy or not.