Technology, “always on” | Is what claims to connect us really a disconnect?

Have you looked up recently? Every has their nose in a device at all times anymore. Whether it is a mobile phone, gaming device, computer, tablet, etc.. Don’t feel guilty, I am a victim of this myself. How anti social we have become that when we walk we’d rather see what’s on the screen in our hands rather than what is right in front of us. Some of us have walked into a poll or tripped down the stairs while using our phones. Common, don’t lie and say you have never done that before…

I mean, how often would you rather look at your phone when you pass by some one just so you don’t have to make eye contact with them? Am I the only one here? That awkward moment where you both make eye contact, make an eh face/fake smile and just maybe say hi? Who are we kidding, I’d rather, and do, just pull my phone out of my pocket and look at a blank screen just to avoid that awkward moment. I cannot count the number of times I have grabbed my phone to unlock it, look at nothing and just relock it.

We have the ability to connect with anyone around the world at our fingertips and often times we forget about the people whom are right in front of us. Don’t hear me wrong. I think technology has given us the ability to connect with loved ones and friends at great distances in seconds. We can stay in touch and build relationships that way, but I do have to pose the question, what about the people within your physical vicinity? Do we spend more time talking with them, or do we have this disconnect of interest and do we show what our priorities are by spending majority of our given time with our attention focused on social media and the consumption of it?

Watch this video by Prince Ea…

Wow, that is a powerful Video. Prince Ea is bringing the heat. It is crazy how we have allowed ourselves to be affected by these advancements in technology and how we crave them more than we crave physical, face to face relationships. This is so much so, we often feel what is call “phantom vibrations.” Then, it is such a let down when you check your phone and there is no notification. Even more, when you do not have your phone on your person and you start to get a phantom vibration, all you can think about at that point is, “Where is my phone and do I have a message?” Getting back to the video, my favorite line from it, and potentially the scariest one is when Ea says, “The average attention span on an adult today is one second less than that of a goldfish.” We are a creature made so intricately that we have the ability to create, feel, express, love, fight, and interact with one another, yet on average we have a shorter attention span than that of a goldfish. We have created a monster in ourselves. A monster in which, if what we are viewing is not something to be consumed within in six seconds or if the medium cannot hold our attention, then it has no meaning to us and we move on to the next thing.

Now, there is hope… Everything is not all doom and gloom. It will take some effort to revert our course, but it is possible. We can change the we use our technology and develop the ability to withstand our addiction to it. There are positives as I mentioned before, but their are also negatives and we have to be careful to protect our minds the negative effects in which this medium has hand on us as a society.