How To Strike A Workable Balance

[pinkytoe]

One of the things that kind of scares me about this media suck is that it is increasingly hard for me to concentrate when I need to. Sometimes while reading a book or the newspaper, I resort to skimming because my brain has become used to the quick bits of info. Sort of like ADD for the masses.

[SteveinMN]

With all due respect to your boundaries .... I feel it does not work for me. There is a certain addiction to the information gathering that you can plainly see on any commute to work. Despite the obvious dangers, people have their heads crammed into their glowing boxes and not paying attention to where they are going. They are crashing their cars with frightening frequency. Wrecking into a world they do not see. Few of them see their world on their way in their world.

That's why I said boundaries work for me. In previous threads on SLF, others have posted that they cannot seem to regulate their use of communication technologies -- much like an alcoholic cannot have just one drink. For those people, perhaps abstaining totally is the only answer.

I do see drivers around here on the phone when they should be paying more attention to driving. But, in days past as well as today, I've also seen other drivers reading books and newspapers, applying makeup or shaving, singing along to very loud music, and disciplining kids or arguing with a passenger. As regrettable as these actions are, the result is distraction. Electronics should not be singled out for being a distraction any more than waking up late or testy kids. I believe electronics only magnify human activity, for good or bad; of themselves they usually do not present behaviors which didn't already exist.

Our obsession with constant stimulation is not a necessity, like food or water, shelter or exercise. When we incorporate these information boxes as requirements for living, we allow them to direct our lives. Use of these devices does not enhance our health because our essence is movement......walking, running, interacting with our world. The box works against our health, peace and our humanity.

I would substitute the word "I" for "we" and "my" for "our". On-line access is a significant component of my life for many reasons, not the least of which are learning, the sharing of information, and support (much as I get from this group). Humans have brains; electronic access is one way to exercise those brains. Using electronics enhances my interaction with the world and allows me to spend time on things I value and almost farm out the others. If I let myself become a slave to the box, just as I could have my life ruled by drugs or sex, then, yes, I'm working against my health, peace, and humanity. But I don't see electronics use as exclusive to a meaningful life.

It interests me that the U.S. has pretty much made pariahs of anyone who smokes cigarettes. Open disdain, fewer and fewer accommodations to the habit, more restrictions, etc.. Similarly, I see in my daughter's generation a norm that you don't drink and drive: if she and her friends are out partying, arrangements are made for safe sober transportation. I wonder if, someday, a general public inability to manage one's on-line engagement may result in a cultural norm of "unplugging days" or interventions for those who truly cannot stop themselves.

[Williamsmith]

SteveinMN

Turn on, Tune in, Drop out.