I traveled for nearly two years right out of college - pre email. Central/South America/Turkey etc. I went through an incredible array of emotions relating to n

I traveled for nearly two years right out of college - pre email. Central/South America/Turkey etc. I went through an incredible array of emotions relating to not seeing or speaking to friends and family for weeks on end. Yet I also felt this incredible sense of adventure - being truly disconnected from all I had known. Those lessons in independence have paid dividends over and over again during tough times - knowing that I've faced a lot of challenges on my own and come through. Within a year of settling down I had my first dial up modem and the rest is history. I'm incredibly thankful now in hindsight that I got to do it when I did. You could still do it today but you'd have to very actively decide not to be connected to people. That in itself would open up awkward questions/dialogues "Dude, you couldn't check your email/FB like even once a week?" I certainly am not alone in having done something like this. I wonder what it means though for post College kids doing it now. We're never not connected to our larger ecosystem anymore. It's almost moved from the notion of "I'll be totally separated from friends and family' to "Everyone will be following my every move as I do one exciting post after another"