Looking Up Once in a While
I’ve read a few things that inspired me lately and they actually fall into two themes.
One is whether the Internet has depleted our capacity to think deeply or rather has it increased our productivity by allowing us to connect and produce with ease and immediacy. I am going to say that on a personal level it has allowed me to achieve much more but often times I do feel stretched and distracted.
Two is how it’s important to stop and look around once in a while, get “unconnected” if you will. I think there’s a remarkable truth to this as I talked about on this blog some time ago.
Nick Carr made a splash some time back with his piece in The Atlantic about whether “Google was Making us Stoopid.” Fun with double consonants aside, he now has a book and also wrote what I found to be a thoughtful piece in Wired Mag outlining research around the implications of the Internet on learning and other areas. Of course Wired also featured Clay Shirky and Daniel Pink in the same edition with their thoughts, that are contrary. Again something I talked about on here before, but great reading that focuses on the time we free up by not watching TV and how it actually allows us to do great things using technology - namely the Internet.
I have to say I think that my life is more fulfilled by being more connected. But being more connected has it’s downside. The editor of GQ (I picked up at the airport during a delay but I do read Esquire) I thought had a nice piece with thoughts on how much time we spend glued to our devices (laptop, mobile or otherwise). I realized this one day while in NYC for work, I took several cabs and walked in and out of a few buildings and did not look up once. It’s this constant connection that convinced an HBR voices author to return his iPad. I’m glad he did, it helps justify me still not having one.
Either way I think we continue to forge into a reality where our opportunities to connect will only continue to break new ground. We are already 24/7 always on with the devices we have but new technology will only push what you can consume and accomplish. Are you happy or sad when the airplane has WiFi? I have mixed feelings as I like to use that time to be productive but how productive am I if I never unplug? I don’t want this to be a WIlliam Gibson-esque post I just think that it’s important to shut down. I have a hard time doing so — most of this blog is written after 11PM — but when I can I find it’s an important way to get out of your daily skin and take a look at things in another way. So read up and I hope you come to the same conclusion.