Isn’t it incredible that in this day and age of multimedia & constant electronic connectivity, we seem to have lost sight of the huge, and fundamental need to consistently work on the basic and still yet most important component in any of this – ourselves!
The advances in technology have radicalised the way that we communicate, when we do it and to a large extent, the consequences.
Don’t get me wrong, I am (to what is now a measured extent) a subscriber. I should be, my career for the last 10 years has revolved around it! But one thing I have observed over the last couple of years is this ‘dependence’ on technology, and this addiction to constant connectivity. Heaven forbid, we don’t gravitate to check our mobile phone every couple of minutes, and imagine the disaster in store should we not instantly reply to an email, or update our current status!
In sincerity, I appreciate that there are huge benefits to communication technology, I am not contradicting myself, but I am certain that it comes at a price, which could be detrimental to our other health, social and wellbeing skills. There is a serious danger that generations to come will not poses basic human interaction skills, the ability to exist without dependence on devices.
Now, I am not saying for one minute that we should implement some ‘technology abstinence’, but I am just wondering what life would be like if we spent ‘that time’ engaged in physical, social interaction, physical activity or other forms of independent personal development.
As much as the time saving virtues of technology are known to us all, consider on a daily basis how much time is actually spent on daily inertia? It is calculated that of an average employee’s 8 hour day, only 3 hours of this time is ‘productive/qualitative’ work! Of the remaining 5 hours, in many cases, a considerable chunk of which is dissipated.
Rather than the daily compulsion to be ‘available’, to everybody, all of the time, why not choose to communicate on terms that suit you! Of course, this is not always possible, but small, incremental changes could have a significant bearing. Just like the telephone: it is not there for someone else’s convenience, it is there for yours. You can apply that same principal to all other forms of technology. Most people aren’t aware of the fact that they are ‘addicted’ to communication technology, and that their dependency is simply empowering others more often than not.
Imagine if you were to spend all of that time on more efficient and effective activities. Your family, your friends and your health will all be appreciative if you re-prioritise. Equally, really take note of the actual ‘work’ that you achieve on a daily basis, and perhaps this will generate some re-structuring.
There is a phrase that applies to many things and it is certainly appropriate in this case: “The things that you own, end up owning you”.
