data fastn.
The act of turning off your computer and other electronic equipment for an extended period of time. Also: information fast.
Example Citations:
Go on what David Shenk calls "data fasts". Take a week in the country away from all the noise to clear your head. Take a big novel with you, preferably by an austere Russian from the 19th century.
—Nick Paton Walsh, "Information burnout — is it the new flu?," Sunday Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia), April 23, 2000
Try data "fasts." Even Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates takes a "think week" away from his computer.
—Marsha White, "Confronting Information Overload," Journal of School Health, April 1, 2000
Earliest Citation:
Cleanse your system with "data fasts." Every now and then, turn everything off. It will help you to evaluate its real value.
—Joy Rothke, "Poking holes in the Net," The San Francisco Examiner, May 19, 1997
