Do you see screens when you close your eyes? Freak out when theres no cellphone reception? Keep hitting refresh on facebook like a rat in a skinner box? Are you beginning to think this may be a problem? Enough with the digital distractions - the internet, the smartphone, the dumb phone, the video games, the TV, the tablet... All that noise, all that information, all those questions. Its all too much. You need quiet. You need to think. You need to unplug. Is there anywhere in the world of 24/7 connectivity where you can get a moment of peace? Theres a consensus growing within the mental health community that all of this connectivity if making us nuts. According to the New York Times, the barrage of information that bombards us via technology can affect the way we think and damage our ability to focus. Were hardwired to respond to new things coming at us - information, opportunities, threats - and the thrill is addictive; it actually gives us a minor dopamine hit. When the novelty stops, we dont know what to do with ourselves. Multitasking makes it even harder to decide what information is worth noting and whats worth ignoring. We cant concentrate, our thoughts get fractured, and we get stressed out. Forbes Magazine also asserts its only a matter of time before Internet Addiction is classified as a disorder. The Internet didnt bring about the concept of unplugging. People have felt the urge to disconnect for generations, even before technology took over our lives. In the 17th century, philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote, All of mans problems come from his inability to sit quietly in a room alone. Pascal probably wouldnt be a big fan of social media. Henry David Thoreau took to the woods around Walden Pond in the 1840s seeking a Spartan simplicity away from the distractions of civilization. We can assume that he would have left his smartphone behind if hed had one: “Our inventions are to be pretty toys which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which it was already but too easy to arrive at.” Listen to your heart. Go out and do what makes you happy. I dare you.
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 00:54:35 +0000