I was sitting in a restaurant in Port Towsend, WA overlooking the bay and mountains towards Canada. The air was crisp, the water tranquil but grey, the sun was setting, and it was a most peaceful setting. Many customers were waiting for service, but one young couple, in particular, caught my attention. They ordered their meals and never said a physical word to each other for nearly an hour. Each one seemed engrossed with the happenings on their cell phones. Sad, I thought.
Then I remembered a previous trip I made to visit my four grandchildren in St. Louis. Beautiful girls between the ages of three and 17 and all technology whizzes. Each one had an electronic device, their dad was all in, and everyone was having a great time with their games. They were focused, intense, but most of all, each one was in a separate zone. Interesting, I thought. The kids can play video games before they can walk.
Today I am traveling to Dallas, TX, and while waiting to board the plane, I noticed there was a difference between the technology folks and the ones who chose to have personal conversations. The technology people were hunched over their devices like the hunchback of Notre Dame cleaning the floors. There were no expressions on their faces signaling they were connected to the current environment, and I believe I saw one person with squared eyes and no muscles because the eyeballs were not moving. Then there were some other groups with no technology, just having some conversations, engaging each other, and laughing. I thought, wow, there might be an opportunity here.
These three examples are not so unusual, and I am sure that most of us have either fallen victim to the cursed Apple-like Eve in the garden or saw a few digital devils so engrossed in technology they appeared to be anti-human. So enough of the background already.
I read an article recently that painted such an overwhelming picture of technology, that I became perplexed after reading the material. In essence, technology has become so pervasive in our lives that the lines seem to blur between humans and technology. I concluded that there is no longer the concept of artificial intelligence, just unnatural. We are machines, or the tools are us, and there is no distinction between the two. It appears that we have lost our humanness and our natural way. I hope there is still time to save the race.
So, here is my challenge to my friends and colleagues. I want to challenge us for one week, to turn it off, unplug it, and walk away from the digits for one hour each day for one week. Just let it go and grab some reality with your family, kids, and walk on the beach, cycle, read a real book at the library if none are in your house, but do something that is not digital or electronic for just one hour a day, and not when you are sleeping.
In one week, I would like to repost a follow-up message and ask you to share your experiences. Let us know if you were able to unplug, turn off, and walk away for one hour every day for one week. It’s OK if you only did one day, but do share what you learned, tell us your story. Perhaps, it might inspire someone else to unplug, turn it off, and walk away.
Just imagine what we might do for the planet if one million people unplugged, turned it off, and walked away only one hour a day for one week. Let’s give it a try. Please share the challenge.
Blessings my natural and digital friends.
Stan Brooks, PhD