Recently, I read an article published by The 99% called "What Happened to Downtime? The Extinction of Deep Thinking & Sacred Space" by Scott Belsky. Essentially this article argues we are increasingly loosing our ability to disconnect from technology, causing us to forfeit deep thinking and personal reflection.
"Interruption-free space is sacred. Yet, in the digital era we live in, we are losing hold of the few sacred spaces that remain untouched by email, the internet, people, and other forms of distraction. Our cars now have mobile phone integration and a thousand satellite radio stations. When walking from one place to another, we have our devices streaming data from dozens of sources. Even at our bedside, we now have our iPads with heaps of digital apps and the world's information at our fingertips."
Our world that is selling technology to us in a packaged box wrapped in promises of an easier life and more efficient life at the cost of our ability to be alone. The article opens with a discussion about what is called the "creative pause."
The author defines this as “the shift from being fully engaged in a creative activity to being passively engaged, or the shift to being disengaged altogether," citing the epiphanies people claim to have in the shower as results of this.
The shower may be one of the few places left where we must leave technology aside and face our own thoughts. In these creative pauses, we are isolated and are free to think about deeper questions.
The author argues for the idea that our desire to be constantly connected existed before the emergence of digital technology, but the existence of digital technology increasingly allows us to meet that desire.
Because of new technologies, we are "depriving ourselves of every opportunity for disconnection."
The emergence of digital technology certainly has beneficial ramifications on our lives, but progress may only happen if we know when to shut those digital technologies down and think. As Belsky says, "brilliance is so rare because it is always obstructed, often by the very stuff that keeps us so busy."
Do you take deliberate steps to take breaks from technology? How does it increase (or decrease) your productivity and your perception of you own well-being?
I'd like to think that I spent last saturday on "downtime" free from electronic devices. What did I do, I met up with a friend and we decided to embark on an all day exploration of Austin on bicycles.
ReplyDeleteSome of the sites we hit: starting off at the Austin Farmers Market, Whole Foods, Torchy's Taco, Town Lake Animal Shelter, Lady Bird Lake, and finallt ending way east where the trails seems to come to a halt near Montopolis.
Pretty much from 10am to 8pm, we were on our bikes, out in nature, and out in the built environment, and not sitting in front of a screen. However, now that I come to think of it, I used my iPhone and my friend used his Android phone to take pictures of the places we went to, and check-in on Gowalla and Foursquare. We even used Google Maps on these devices when we felt we got lost. At the end of the day, both of us expressed how we wished we would have used some sort of GPS app to track exactly where we went and how far we rode. It seems that even when determined to spend the day outside, we cannot escape technology.
So in reality, no, I did not have any downtime....
I, for one, sit in bed for about fifteen minutes before I fall asleep playing solitaire on my phone. And for me that is downtime. I don't really have to be mentally engaged in anything, so my mind isn't racing, and my body has time to relax before I go to sleep. I don't think people's engagement with technology is necessarily a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteThis may sound strange, but when I am physically separated from my phone (or if the battery dies), I tend to have really bad anxiety. I am constantly worried that someone is trying to get a hold of me and can't because I don't have my phone. I feel that being separated from my phone actually decreases my well-being because of this.
I love handiwork (sewing, knitting, painting/drawing, anything that involves a drill, etc), so if I have a good amount of free time I plan a little project for myself. For instance, my old sleeping mask came apart so I used some leftover fabric from another project to make a new one. It's really satisfying to use my hands to create a tangible object that I can enjoy. I think we're pretty much at a point where technology can't be divorced from our lives, so I like the ideas you brought up. I have always practiced deep thinking and personal reflection – mulling things over before I go to sleep, usually OVER thinking things – but I feel like this is becoming a scarce trait among digital natives (our generation). It's important to be aware of our immense attachment and set aside time for good ol' self-reflection.
ReplyDelete