» 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. 9781585428557_WinterOf_FM_pi-viii.indd iv 18/11/10 3:38 AM » 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 9781585428557_WinterOf_FM_pi-viii.indd v 18/11/10 3:38 AM 9781585428557_WinterOf_FM_pi-viii.indd vi 18/11/10 3:38 AM 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. 9781585428557_WinterOf_FM_pi-viii.indd vii 18/11/10 3:38 AM 9781585428557_WinterOf_FM_pi-viii.indd viii 18/11/10 3:38 AM