We live in a culture that is increasingly obsessed with connectivity. We get faster phones and Internet, new social networks, and more methods of staying constantly in touch with everyone we know, sort of know, and only know online. It is easier than ever before to be fully connected to the outside world without ever leaving your house, but that’s not a win for introversion or hermits — that’s a sign that we, as a culture, are losing the ability to learn to be alone. If we don’t savor solitude and quiet, whether we are introverted or extroverted, we will lose a piece of our humanity.
Is Technology Paleo?
This question answers itself. The cavemen didn’t have telephones or even electricity, so that means we have to chuck it all and move into an Amish neighborhood if we really want to be Paleo. Right? No, of course that’s not true. Paleo people don’t seek to BE cavemen, we just want to eat using the same holistic and nature-based principles. What if the same applied to our approach to technology? You better believe that cavemen weren’t all sitting silently around the campfire, eating their legs of meat, faces lit up by the blue-light glow of their Stone Age smart phones. No, they were connected to their present reality — the things happening immediately around them. That may have been to avoid lurking dangers of prowling animals, but again we are brought back to the fact that caveman didn’t choose Paleo, but we do, which means we have the luxury of not letting the 21st century way of living run the show.
What’s the Worst That Could Happen…?
You start talking about digital detoxes and breaks from technology and most people start to break out in a cold sweat. Me? Without my iPhone? Without Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, snapchat, tumblr, and YouTube? Without funny cat videos, memes, GIFs, and blogs? Without texting, Skyping, Googling, and FaceTime? Surely that would bring the world to a screeching halt. Surely that would collapse civilization as we know it. Surely that will be the end of us.
I’m being dramatic, of course. I have definitely been someone who had mini panic attacks at the thought of going even an hour without the use of my iPhone. If I was going to be out and away from a charger, I had to carefully plan to make sure my phone battery wouldn’t die when I could potentially need to check some life changing tweets or Facebook posts. What if I missed someone’s wedding/birth/selfie? What if I didn’t know what was happening in the world 24/7?
No really, what if? I used to be so wrapped up in the news — and let’s face it, 99.9% of that is negative, scary, or depressing — that I would have physical and emotional reactions to it. I would cry, feel stress, or lose sleep over things and events that I had no control over and worse yet, would be replaced by equally as stressful, unresolvable things within an hour or two. It was a neverending cycle of spiraling into chaos.
When we exist in a world of constant connectivity, we block the pathways for silence, reflection, and solitude within ourselves. Even if you’re not an introspective person, every human needs to be deeply connected and in touch with who we are at the core. The louder the noise from the outside world gets, the more we suffer from stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and a plethora of other health maladies. Am I saying that some time for prayer or meditation or silent reflection will solve all of our problems? No, but it may solve some of them. We often fail to take into account just how much of a burden it is for us to be constantly “on.” We need to be more intentional about defending our inner peace and making time to just be still.
Even those who work in the fastest paced, most stressful jobs — or moms of infants who refuse to ever sleep (that would be me) — and everyone in between, can make time each day for at least a few moments of calm, quiet, and disconnecting from the outer world (or the crying baby). It hardly matters what you do just so long as you are giving your brain a break from the constant influx of noise, news, and needing to process information from others. Whether you spend those moments in prayer or meditation, or choosing to go for a walk (without music or podcasts buzzing in your ears) or doing some yoga, you need to give your brain a breather. Even if you’re sitting there reading this saying, “I’m fine, I don’t need a break.” Yes, you.
I’m not proposing that you go days or weeks without your phone, although it certainly wouldn’t kill you, but simply finding a few moments each day where you’re not connected. Here are some practical and easy ways to remove some chaos from your life while providing more opportunity for calm, peace, and focus.
- Silence all notifications on your smart phone, tablet, and any other connectivity devices. You can do this for a certain amount of time each day, or for the entire day. This will allow you to remain focused on what is happening around you without constantly being pulled into the demands of other people. You can respond to texts when you see them, not the moment that they signal their existence. The same is true for emails, social media notifications, and even phone calls. We used to live in a culture where people missed phone calls because they were out living their lives. That’s not a bad concept to return to.
- Delete social media apps from your smart phone or tablet and only check them when you’re at an actual computer. This will dramatically cut down on the time you spend on them, and give you hours of your day back to live in the present. (But don’t go spending your newly freed time by binge-watching shows on Netflix.)
- Install a mindfulness or meditation app on your phone. If you’re really opposed to putting your phone away for awhile, at least put it to use in a way that enriches your life instead of draining you. There are many options available and even just a few minutes a day of focused breathing or meditation can have significant benefits for your mental, emotional, and even physical well being.
Will becoming more connected to yourself fix all of the world’s problems? Not even a little bit. But this simple practice can be powerful enough to enrich your own life, which in turn will enrich the lives of those physically around you. I don’t see how that can possibly be a bad thing.