TECH MANIA: TAKE A BREAK!
Our reliance on electronic media has begun to transform human relations. Our fixation on screens detracts from the quality of connection with others. We have become so dependent on the multiple and repeated micro-satisfactions that come from getting a text, updating Facebook, or simply being “plugged in,” that when we remove the smart phone or access to a computer, many of us experience anxiety, depression, and generalized discontent.
Not only is the quality of face-to-face interaction suffering, but data has begun to mount that the very wiring of the brain is changing. We are becoming more neurally wired for screen-based interaction.
The long-term consequences of these changes on our society are anybody’s guess. But we know that electronics get in the way of family time, for example, with some families texting and checking their smart phones all through dinner. Car rides used to be opportunities for discussion. Now, many people bury their heads in smart phones or iPads. In the professional realm, managers complain of attention at meetings being damaged from the buzzing and ringing of phones, as well as from attention never being at 100% because of the constant perception that a new text or message might need immediate attention. Some scholars have suggested that we are “becoming more ADHD,” an assertion rooted in the belief that technology demands that we shift our attention frequently, and thus we become neurally locked in to this rhythm.
I recommend a few steps to help ensure that our social skills remain at a high level.
1. Have at least some tech-free time as a family. Don’t allow smart phones at the dinner table, for example.
2. Go on a Digital Diet. Turn your phone off after work, and pick one weekend a month that will be technology free.
3. Unless you are a doctor on call, or awaiting the birth of your child, discipline yourself to not check your phone when you are in an important work meeting, or simply having coffee with a friend. This simple behavior can pay great interpersonal dividends. When you are with someone, and intentionally do not respond to your phone, you strongly communicate that you value the person you’re with.
4. Turn off your phone at night. If you are a parent, go to your cell phone company’s website and you can do this for them, and you can also ensure that the cell phone is INACTIVE during the school day, which I highly recommend.
