This image available at http://jolly-rancherzz.deviantart.com/art/DONT-UNPLUG-ME-177079124SXSW was a connect-fest. I was tweeting, Facebooking, and blogging to my heart’s content. In a land of free and available-everywhere wi-fi, a tech lover like me thought she fell down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. These online connections led to wonderful off-line connections, too. I met two really amazing women from DC who got a whole group of us together on Group Me, a cool new app that makes it easy to group text message, making the coordination of group plans much easier. These ladies brought in a few others while I got my pals from New York to team up with us, too. It was a wonderful lesson in online connections facilitating off-line interaction.
Balancing our online and off-line existence
Recently I have had some concerns about being a hyper-connected person. My multi-tasking nerd nature still rears its head on occasion and I start to get concerned about its clear ability to consume my time. I have to consciously remind myself that my offline connections need to be of greater proportion than my online ones.
SXSW had me thinking about connections and the growing cross-pollination between offline and online interactions. The wall between the two is slowly breaking down, and now we’re able to more easily facilitate the interactions in both directions. This realization made me feel a bit more comfortable with how many channels I now access to stay connected. Still, I wanted to test myself a bit. Could I survive mostly offline for a few days and not feel lost, not obsess about what I was missing online?
Can we ever really be off-line?
Once I got to Orlando, where I stopped in to see my family after SXSW, I made the conscious decision to take myself offline for a great majority of the time. I wanted to see if I could do it. I wanted to really be there with my family, no distractions. Rather than feeling any anxiety about my disconnection, it felt amazing. After being hyper connected at SXSW, it felt great to shut off my shiny screens and just be in the world. I felt lighter, and I recognized beauty in a clearer way than I have on previous tech fasts.
Once my family dropped me off at the airport and I explained to my eldest niece, Lorelei, that she wouldn’t be able to get on the plane with me this time, I worried that I’d go right back to my device checking ways. But you know what? It never even occurred to me to take out my mobile while I was waiting in line to check my bag.
Unexpected, and delightful, connections
Instead, I was focused on those around me. I worked to keep Phin clam in his travel bag, and I chatted with some people in line. Both the person in front of me and the person behind me had dachshunds, too. While going through security, I met a woman from Iowa and she told me all about the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, a program I’ve been wanting to check out for quite a while. “Here’s my card,” she said. “If you ever get to Iowa, please feel free to stay with me and my family.” I met a man, Francisco, at the gate. He was traveling to Bogota and was worried he was at the wrong gate. With my very rusty Spanish and his equally rusty English, I was able to help him out. In exchange he told me all about his life in Colombia and how he had just retired after many years of working very hard in the agriculture industry. If I had my earphones on or been obsessively checking my mobile, I would have missed all of these interactions. I would have missed the very human element of traveling – time with others.
Weird is where you are
Even once I landed back in New York, I was able to still feel light, and I didn’t have that obsession with checking my mobile device. Austin somehow shifted my take on technology. I don’t see it as a burden but as a great luxury, something I can take or leave depending on my mood and circumstances. It’s no longer giving me a Monkey Mind. Maybe my quest to keep the lightness of Austin with me even after I return home will be an easier road than I imagined. Can I keep it weird wherever I am?
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
THE DEEP DIVE
My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
DIGITAL PRODUCT STRATEGY & MEDIA LEADERSHIP
At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM & AUTHORSHIP
As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
LIVE EXPERIENCE & CIVIC STORYTELLING
As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING MEDIA
Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
Digital Products & Strategy: Architecting scalable digital platforms, streaming experiences, and operational models for mission-driven institutions.
Environmental Reporting & Publications: Delivering long-form reporting, books, and newsletters grounded in climate resilience and regenerative design.
Site-Specific Live Storytelling: Producing immersive live shows and educational walking tours that engage public audiences in community history.
CONNECT
Website & Production Hub: doubleornothingmedia.com and christaavampato.com
Newsletter: Togetherhood on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/
Instagram & Threads: @christarosenyc
Emerson Page Novels: emersonpagebook.wordpress.com/
View all posts by Christa Avampato
3 thoughts on “Beginning: The Hour of My Disconnect”
That is an awesome feat Christa!
One of my profs challenged us to live offline for 24hours and document what happened to us (similar to what you’ve done). Most of us couldn’t make it the whole 24hours, I know I couldn;t but I’d love to try it again sometime, it seems to have been beneficial for you!
Hi Ally! I really did feel great afterward being off-line for a bit. I appreciated my technology even more and found that I could be more present with my friends and family when I put my phone away. It was a great lesson. Now every night I shut off my phone around 9pm and leave it off until 9am the next morning.
Power to you Christa!! I tried the same thing a few years ago after reading this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/fashion/02sabbath.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
And, thanks for the shout out!
Cheers,
Katie
LikeLike
That is an awesome feat Christa!
One of my profs challenged us to live offline for 24hours and document what happened to us (similar to what you’ve done). Most of us couldn’t make it the whole 24hours, I know I couldn;t but I’d love to try it again sometime, it seems to have been beneficial for you!
Cheers,
Ally
LikeLike
Hi Ally! I really did feel great afterward being off-line for a bit. I appreciated my technology even more and found that I could be more present with my friends and family when I put my phone away. It was a great lesson. Now every night I shut off my phone around 9pm and leave it off until 9am the next morning.
LikeLike