When you’re on vacation, how much of your time is spent with your nose three inches from a computer, iPad or cell phone screen? If you paused sheepishly at the realization that even your leisure time is too connected, then you’re just like the majority of the population.

Aunts and uncles all over the planet spend far too much time mired in ethereal space. They’re (and I include myself) locked on targets like email, Flappy Bird, Candy Crush, Facebook, Twitter, G+ or Pinterest. People are paying more attention to tech and less attention to fellow humans...something has to be done.

You know why? Because if we’re tethered to our devices, we lose out on face-to-face communication, sharing and learning. Follow the logic right into our station as role models and suddenly you’ll realize where I’m going with this. The more we keep our noses on our screens, the less we spend quality time with nieces and nephews.

Sure, I’m the tech uncle and the majority of my income results from my assignments in the social media and technology world. But if I can find time to untether myself, you can too.

Never was this more clear to me than on a recent trip to Florida where I watched one of my favorite nephews with his face practically glued to his iTouch. Even offers of food and adventures driving a golf cart couldn’t distract him from his screen.

At that point I decided to rededicate myself to spending a bit more time off the Web and on solid ground. Here are three ways I’ve done it - I hope you can learn from these methods and also pass them along to your nieces and nephews. You’ll be, like I am, the favorite uncle again because you’ll be spending real time with your loved ones.

*A quick aside. Medical studies have shown that too much time spent with digital devices and small screens may not allow eyesight to develop properly in children. So it may be even more beneficial to get kids off the screen and out to play.

Step one: set limits. It sounds easy, but it requires you to form a habit. Various sources say it takes about three weeks to do this, and I agree. If you can plan to put your devices away each day at a set time, and do that for 21 days, you can do it forever. The best way I’ve found to do this is (don’t gasp!), to set an alarm on my phone that reminds me to shut it off at a regular point each night. It works. Try it.

Next, pull out some of the games you used to play before you got lost in birds, zombies, words and other online pursuits. You’ll find that conversation flows more easily when you’re playing Pente, Mankala, Trivial Pursuit, checkers, bridge, cribbage or any number of table games. Many of them are easy to play with younger relatives and most have stood the test of time, so they’re games you’ll be able to enjoy with nieces and nephews as they grow older.

Finally, find out what your favorite relatives do for games. Spend time with them on the golf course, biking, taking photos, doing crafts or whatever it is that gets them excited away from their Web devices. On that same trip to Florida I found out how excited my niece and nephew got about driving a golf cart. This let me know that in about eight or nine years I could be the cool uncle who teaches them how to drive a car.

Untether. It will open up a whole world of discovery for you and your nieces and nephews. It’s just another way you can be the favorite uncle.

Photo: adamr
Published: March 26, 2014