Sunday afternoon I had my laptop open as I “watched” the Minnesota Twins play baseball. (It turns out I invested the proper amount of attention in the game as they ended up losing.) Anyway, I was on Facebook when I noticed a friend I hadn’t seen in a while checked in at a nearby park via Foursquare. At first I thought, “Cool! If I was there and saw that update on my mobile device, I could look for him.” Then I thought, “If I was a stalker, I’d drive over there. Finally I thought, “Dude, you’re at the park with your kid. Put down your phone.”
This isn’t the first time I’ve been simultaneoulsy attracted to and repulsed by technology. On a recent shopping trip with my daughter, I was looking around the fitting room at Old Navy as she tried on clothes. The other people waiting for folks in the dressing rooms stared at their mobiles; I just stared at them. Was I jealous that they had something to entertain them while they waited? Maybe. I have yet to upgrade to a fancy phone. (I still carry a flip phone, for which my husband the IT guy makes fun of me.) But that made me think: does our constant access to information and entertainment have a negative impact on us?
Of course, my thesis for this piece is yes, or I wouldn’t be writing it. Now, I’m sure some of you will argue that technology facilitates creativity instead of impeding it, and you may have a point. But here’s my question: when’s the last time you had a great idea in front of a screen? If you’re like me, your latest brainstorm was more likely to occur when you were driving, or taking a shower, or going for a walk…not sitting at your desk, or typing away on your mobile.
I’m no neuroscientist, so I don’t know how the brain really works, but my experience is you need to give it some space to breathe. Sit down, take a deep breath and BE BORED for one minute, and all of a sudden the synapses start firing.
You may be thinking, “Oh, Leah – you’re so OLD, you’re so OLD-FASHIONED.” And again, you may be right. But I’m trying, I really am! I’ve gone from ignoring friend requests, to accepting them, to commenting on other people’s posts to actually making a few of my own. All I’m saying is moderation is a good thing. One of my favorite days of the week is Saturday, because it’s the one day each week that I rarely check email. And last summer when I went on a ten-day roadtrip with my family, I didn’t check email until I got home. A colleague of mine commented, “Boy, you really checked out,” to which I responded, “Yep.” I checked voicemail once a day during long drives, and I left my cell phone number on my voicemail and out-of-office assistant, so you know what? If people REALLY needed to reach me, they could of. And guess what? The world did not come to an end. So, go ahead. Step away from this blog. Put down your mobile, and go outside. Listen to the songbirds, and smell the fresh-cut grass. Aside from a massive oil spill in the Gulf, all is right with the world.