Will we ever be able to “get away” again?
Close your eyes. Now, imagine. Imagine you are surrounded by beautiful forest scenery. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and there are countless paths awaiting your exploration. You reach for a second helping of your fire cooked breakfast, and get comfy to savour the taste whilst checking your Facebook notifications. You – wait, what?
That’s right, folks. Parks Canada has made the ingenious idea to bring WiFi hot spots to some of its locations. You will no longer have to wait in psychological agony to check social media, nor will you suffer the peace of work detachment or spending time with the friends/family with whom you came. It is such a relief to know that you will be driving away from home and paying money to live the exact life you have at home anyway. Well, there may be a few more trees.
In case my slight tone of sarcasm hasn’t been detected, I think the introduction of WiFi in any park is a sad and unfortunate idea. As a society, it frightens me to think that we often forget the purpose of so many things. Parks Canada exists to provide for us citizens what we may be unable to find in our urban homes. Their locations offer breathtaking panoramas, exposure to otherwise inaccessible nature, and a disconnect from the hustle-bustle that is our everyday lives.
Bringing in internet access may seem like an innovative move that will increase visitation and make the camping experience more enjoyable for visitors, but it will effectively strip away the appeal of a unique, disconnected vacation. Sure, you will have the ‘ease of mind’ of knowing that you can reply to any emails instantly – but that also means you are essentially expected to continually be present in the cyber-sphere. As well, many families often choose these parks to enjoy their rare time together, and every minute spent on the laptop/smart phone is a minute not spent with the ones you love (this applies anywhere, not just campgrounds).
The other important factor is one’s presence in nature itself. It is hard enough these days to find peaceful spaces where the honking of traffic and ridiculous rush of the workweek are replaced by the songs of birds and the relaxation of knowing there is nowhere you must be or anything you must do. Supplying Internet may provide the assurance of never having to be bored, but just the fact that we could possibly be bored in the wonder of nature is a sad testament to our vanity as the human race.
The truth is, we have become virtually reliant on the electronic society we have created, and we experience separation anxiety whenever we feel unable to participate in the digital daily life. But amongst all our Instagramming and YouTubing, our concern is not an inability to log on. The real disconnect lies in the vast distance we have put between ourselves and Mother Earth. We chop down forests to build cookie cutter houses and then blame their inhabitants for ‘invading’ our cities. We spend entire beautiful days inside on the computer. We are so afraid of our children getting hurt that we would rather keep them inside than allow exploration and active games.
Is the Internet great? Yes, it can be. It would be impossible to deny the many advantages that come with being able to contact anyone in the world with the touch of a button. But just as it was told to you years ago, when your mother sent you “outside, because it’s a beautiful day,” there is a time and place for everything. A park is not the place for Wifi – nor will there be a time when it is. There is only one tweet you should follow, and to enjoy it requires no profile settings.