Tech Review: Logging Off to Tune In

Happy Moonday.

Have you felt the pressure lately? The endless headlines about AI, the whispers of scarcity, the urge to leverage it all, to monetize, to adapt, the sense that you need to keep up (or will inevitably fall behind)?

And yet somewhere deeper, there’s a knowing that the more we lean into these tools — AI, social media, online shopping — the further we drift from presence. 

Do you feel your brain cells changing rapidly as you experiment with AI, annnd does it make your skin cringe a bit? Have you noticed the creeping disconnection as social media shifts — a tool once meant to connect us now leaving us scattered and distant? 

I know I’m not the only one sitting in this tension.

Knowing BOTH as TRUTH.

AI is making me more productive and efficient. It helps me streamline meal planning, organize unit study lessons, and turn what used to be a 30-minute google search into a two-minute deep dive. Many people I know — myself included — have used it to reflect on deeply personal issues and received solid ideas for consideration. AND while it’s doing all of this better by the day, it’s also threatening my relationship with my own embodied intelligence, and with real life human connections. 

Social media continues to connect us. We join aligned groups, events, and share messages — for me, it’s one of joyful, heartfelt mothering while inviting friends into our real-life spaces. AND it seamlessly does this while draining time, energy, and capacity. I simply don’t feel great when I use the apps.

I could go on and on about online shopping and everything else we’re outsourcing - I'm writing this as I wait for Walmart to deliver my groceries. Hi, irony. Yet I'm so grateful for this convenience especially today as I'm home with my teething baby who really needs his rest.

If, like me, you feel in your bones a quiet pull toward coherence, presence, and slow, grounded thinking, keep reading.

If, like me, you’ve taken breaks from tech before and returned refreshed — only to find yourself craving the next pause sooner than expected — keep reading. (This isn't my first break from social media, the last big one I wrote about was July of 2024.)

The Paradox

There’s the booming noise of scarcity: get left behind if you don’t leverage tech. And the gentle whisper of a different scarcity: tech out of balance leads to missing out on real life.

I’ve been holding this paradox, the push and pull - how tech fuels efficiency and connection, and at the same time leaves me feeling off-center, scattered.

So I’ve decided to carve out the next few weeks with a big tech pause: to settle into my own rhythm, listen to my intuition, and notice what truly matters when the noise fades. But I'm setting this pause up to be different than any time before. To pause with clear purpose ... of finding clear-ness.

When Kenny was born (just shy of 2 years ago?!) I chose to follow my midwives' advice to stay home as much as possible for as long as possible. I left my phone on my kitchen counter and I drew inward. Inward to my family, and into self. I embraced my baby and my postpartum body and soul, and my family as a whole as we transitioned to life with him. I still feel changed as a person from that time period, from the way I honored us. 

This is offered as wisdom for postpartum moms because we change, every time a baby is born, and taking time to move slower helps the body heal and integrate the changes. Our world is changing now, and we need a sacred pause to integrate.

I’m viewing this digital-pause a bit like that. A sacred, and intentional window. Not just a break. A break that acknowledges how different everything is right now for all of us than ever before. 

This so aligns with the cosmos 

It’s no coincidence I’m feeling called towards this right at the cusp of Mercury Retrograde; so I’m using that theme and the dates to shape this container. 

INCYDK: Mercury goes retrograde a few times each year, and there’s always a lot of hype about technology flops and missed emails. I like to look at it differently — as an invitation to review how I communicate and relate to technology. 

This particular coming Mercury RX feels like a true invitation to slow down. From February 26 through March 20, 2026, Mercury will appear to move backward through Pisces, the sign of intuition, dreams, and the kind of knowing that lies deep beneath the surface. 

This is also overlapping with eclipse season — a time known for turbulence, unpredictability, and sudden course corrections that feel less like choice and more like destiny. Add to that major outer-planet transits settling this month, and the collective energy is unmistakably one of deep recalibration and inevitable change.

It’s also not a coincidence in my mind this timeframe coincides with traditional lent. While I don’t always observe lent, I am drawn to the practice of prayerful fasting. Giving up something you’ve become entangled with, with intention to seek higher wisdom and clarity about that thing. Lent is honored from Ash Wednesday (this year falling on February 18) to Easter weekend (April 5). 

Which happens to be the day before my birthday, and two days before Kenny turns 2 ….  (also feels like sweet serendipity - nothing is coincidence if you ask me). 

What will this look like?

I’m devoting myself over the next (however long it continues to feel right) to creating a liminal cocoon. I intend to refrain from using tech as much as possible - no hard and fast rules or strong arming myself, just showing up each day with a prioritization of valuing choices that move me away from tech. I'll be cutting out social apps, AI, bare minimum online shopping, and generally spending less screen time.

My wish is to return from this pause refreshed and recharged - but deeper: to return with clarity on how I adapt to technology and integrate from a place of coherence, where my personal values take center stage. 

And because of my grounded Virgo moon, I couldn't help but take the extra step: I've been putting together a little ritual guide for myself - to lay the framework for deep reflection. I'm setting myself up to work with my journal in a way that mindfully reviews these relationships, while deeply tending to my nervous system — working to restore resilience, steadiness, and adaptability to thrive at a slow pace in a world that glorifies hyper productivity and convenience. I'll be making space to remember how my ancestors lived, how those rhythms still exist in my body, and how to weave that wisdom consciously in today’s world. And I'll be visioning what I actually want to feel like in relationship with technology.

Because I don't want it to just be another 'nice break'. I want to come out of this portal with a deeper understanding of how I can truly leverage technology without losing myself.

I’ve always aimed to use it responsibly, and I think I do compared to most, and I think most everyone reading this does, too. But as AI evolves at breakneck speed, it feels more urgent than ever to clarify what responsible even means. 

So this is not just a fast — it's a fast with purpose.

If you’re considering a similar digital fast in the coming weeks, I’d love to hold one another accountable and share reflections. And if you're giving up something else for lent I'd actually love to hear about that, too. Respond to this email to let me know.

PS I still plan to write here ... maybe 😘 ... and if nothing comes through that feels pressing to share, I won't clog your inbox and I already know that's perfectly okay either way.