Life onTapp: Modern life gets in the way of total relaxation on holiday

​Like many people this week, I’ve been getting in a right old flap, readying myself for time away in the sunshine, we hope.
By Jane Chippindale
Published 8th Apr 2024, 09:32 BST
Updated 8th Apr 2024, 11:25 BST
The computers in our pockets mean that we are always in touch with our lives, even if we are thousands of miles from home which, in my view, kind of takes some of the fun out of being away. Photo: AdobeStockThe computers in our pockets mean that we are always in touch with our lives, even if we are thousands of miles from home which, in my view, kind of takes some of the fun out of being away. Photo: AdobeStock
The computers in our pockets mean that we are always in touch with our lives, even if we are thousands of miles from home which, in my view, kind of takes some of the fun out of being away. Photo: AdobeStock

Blaise Tapp writes: It’s the same every time we go anywhere that requires ironing to be done and the flip flops to be dug out of the back of the cupboard, we always think we have plenty of time to pack and we end up shoving it into the cases 12 hours before we’re due to fly. Every single time.

But pre-holiday stress is all part of the fun and is soon forgotten once you get onto the beach and get a sangria or six down you? I must be doing holidays all wrong because, as lovely as it is to be away, I don't think I've ever knowingly completely switched off for longer than a few hours in any given day, even when stretched out on a sun lounger reading yet another autobiography that a well meaning relative bought me for Christmas. I very rarely get beyond chapter five.

The mind is always whirring, which is hardly surprising when your life is always a pin code away. As tempting as it might be to leave the smart phone at home, along with the half bottle of skimmed milk and yellow cabbage, it's not going to happen.

For a start, airlines pretty much insist on an app as printing out boarding passes is so 2015 and the same applies to the taxi that takes you to and from the airport, which is handy if you want to see if he really is two minutes away. They never are.

The computers in our pockets mean that we are always in touch with our lives, even if we are thousands of miles from home which, in my view, kind of takes some of the fun out of being away. I remember going away in the 80s and 90s and being blissfully unaware of what was going on in the world, now news alerts mean that you'll never again miss what's been said at Prime Minister's Question Time. While WhatsApp means you don't have to run up a huge bill to ask your neighbour to put the bins out, it also means that you are unable to escape anyone.

I've also never understood why people listen to their favourite radio shows while they are abroad – trying to understand what an excitable foreign DJ is banging on about is always a holiday highlight. Yes, I will enjoy my time away but modern life means there is no chance of me coming back refreshed.