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Personal Perspectives
Forced to Unplug at the Airport and Making the Most of It
Personal Perspective: Being unplugged at the airport was not a terrible thing.
Updated September 2, 2024 Reviewed by Lybi Ma
I still remember the look of disbelief on my children’s faces.
The airline agent at the ticketing counter had just informed us that, due to a technical issue, the entertainment system in our seats from Seoul to Seattle – a 9.5-hour flight – would not be working.
My two teenage daughters might have as well been told that the airplane engine had a serious glitch that would jeopardize our safety. Or they would not serve us water on flight. Or some other equally disturbing news.
“What are we supposed to do during that time?” They desperately cried.
Seizing it as a parenting moment, I gave (what I thought) was a succinct “lecture” to my children on how else they might occupy their time. Read a book. Listen to music or a podcast. Write or draw in your journal. Take a nap. Talk to each other.
It turned out that the anticipated nightmare of flying without an entertainment screen never materialized, as the airline fixed the screen issue right before we boarded.
Fast forward a few months to today.
Right now, as I type this blog post content, I am stuck at my hometown airport (Seattle-Tacoma Airport) without Wi-Fi, due to a suspected cyberattack. Moreover, I left my sim card at home before I left for the airport, as I am in the habit of doing when I travel internationally; this means that I do not have cellular data either.
When I stepped into the airport and quickly gathered that I could not connect to the Wi-Fi as I had done countless times, I found myself asking the same desperate question that my daughters posed: What am I supposed to do for a couple of hours?
I first thought back to the advice that I had given my children. In some ways, these suggestions were textbook responses, based on my understanding of what promotes well-being. But motivated to not behave hypocritically, I decided to try implementing the ideas that I had confidently proposed to my children.
Read a book. I reached into my backpack for a book to read. But there was none; in my attempt to pack lightly, I had limited myself to e-books, which required an internet connection for me to access. Same with listening to music or a podcast.
Draw or journal. I tried, for a moment. But I found myself with little inspiration.
Take a nap. I attempted to doze off a bit while sitting at my gate. But the constant announcements over the speakers, combined with the buzz of the many passengers in the gate area, made it close to impossible to catch any sleep.
And talk to each other. But like many others, I was traveling solo. And I didn’t feel brave enough to strike up conversations with strangers around me.
After I desperately searched for a location at the airport to connect to Wi-Fi and send a quick text to my family explaining that I was unplugging, and after I stood in what seemed like an endless line at Starbucks and finally got my hands on much-needed caffeine, I found myself sitting at the gate, a couple of hours before my flight, wondering, what do I do now?
I even found myself reaching for my phone a couple of times, unlocking it out of habit, only to remember that I could not use it.
Here are a few things that I ended up doing (I won’t bore you with a complete list). This may inspire you to be creative in finding simple but effective unplugged ways to pass the time at the airport.
1. I walked around the airport. As I mentioned earlier, it helped that I was desperately searching for a place to quickly connect to Wi-Fi. I found a place, but not until I had walked around the airport for a good 10 to 15 minutes.
2. I watched people. Observing people at the airport is especially intriguing because people from literally all over the world are in the same building. At a deeper level, as I take in the faces of people, I cannot help but think about the diverse circumstances that have brought them to the airport; all are going somewhere, but the reason for their travel might be vastly different. For some folks, there is much joy and anticipation in the air. But for others, much grief and heartache is underlying their travel. And all the other emotions in between. I watched people and wondered about their stories.
3. I sat and… did nothing. Like many others in the modern world, it is so rare to find moments in the day when I am not doing something. Even when I try to relax, I rely on things like background music to fill the mental space. But today, for a few moments, I chose to just stare into space. Look at the large airport window and watch the airplanes take off.
4. Related to #3, I took time for personal reflections and prayers. To be able to have a good chunk of uninterrupted time for spiritual practice was rejuvenating and helpful in refocusing. I lifted prayers for the people that I love—people who I left at home, and people who I will see once I arrive at my destination of Seoul—and I refocused my energy on the vocational tasks that awaited me.
What are some of your ideas for how to make the most of your time when you are expectedly unplugged, such as at an airport?
