And so it begins, another day as an object outstretched from the technology that enslaves us. We can not live in the here in now. We can not focus on the task at hand. We are not happy unless we have many tasks at hand. None of which we will do well but all of which we have a goal to accomplish.
We click on each tab, on each program, on each e-mail. We answer our phones. We listen to voicemail. We receive text messages. We hear those around us as we anxiously click, click, click wanting to clear yet one more task off our task list. We scroll up and down. We open more computer window screens as the work streams in. We click, click, click adding more and more to our task list.
We forget what it was that we wanted to accomplish when we first engaged the technology. We have become enslaved by it.
We don’t understand why nothing gets done. We don’t understand why we don’t feel like we are accomplishing the many tasks we have. We are busy, doing tasks, but doing nothing we want to do right now. We forget what it was that we wanted to accomplish when we first engaged the technology. We have become enslaved by it. The e-mails take precedence over anything we wanted or needed to do. We prioritize only to reprioritize because someone else has gotten to us and convinced us what they need is more important than what we feel we need to do.
How long, how long will it take before the click, click, click causes the blue screen of death or the message “Please Contact your Administrator”? The administrator is you. You have no choice. It’s time to shut down and reboot and hope that whatever went wrong will correct itself.
For a moment, while you are shut down, enjoy the time not having to click, click, click. For a moment, while you are shut down, enjoy what you are doing right now and not what might be coming in via e-mail, voice mail, or text message. For a moment, regroup and listen to what your mind is saying, not what others are telling you to do. For a moment, take control of who you are and know that sometimes the computer needs to be down for a while before it is safe to turn back on.
When you do turn it back on, be patient. Don’t try to do too much. Don’t click, click, click. Try for once doing one thing at a time and be satisfied that the one thing will be done with quality and to your expectations. Breathe, be human, don’t let the technology change the creative person that lives within you.
Nothing can take the place of looking into someones eyes and saying a kind word. Unplug so we can connect.
This article reminds us of how important it is to disconnect. I keep my phone in the bedside drawer and the sound turned off at night, and my computer is in another part of the house. I may not always be the best at being reached by cell phone, computer, DM, or texts but I am happy. We must have boundaries. Thank you for reminding me.
Turning a mobile phone or a computer into a vital vehicle to talk to others, to be present within our community is the biggest mistake our era can cause. When the cell phone begins to discharge, when we can not connect to the internet, when it is difficult to call, we become nervous.
The real theme, the focal point is that we need to be able to consider technology as a tool to use when needed. The real goal must be to use them carefully, with judgment because the negative effects do not make a difference in age or social class.
It would be enough to look around and progressively come back into everyday life, letting the cellphone download itself and remain (switched off) connected to the electrical outlet, while learning to chat again, to trust others, to listen to it. With a bit of common sense and moderation one can be an ally of technology but regain possession of one’s existence.