How did we get here?
In an information age that has (i) morphed from two cans connected by a string to wireless connectivity reaching every corner of the globe, (ii) expanded from three network TV channels to hundreds of 24-hour cable/streaming channels, and (iii) social media networks with millions of accounts controlled by provocative influencers, our minds are unavoidably lured by and consumed with the endless amount of information coming our way.
This information assault causes a monumental distraction that simply cannot be resolved by yesteryear’s admonition to “stop and smell the roses;” we must be far more intentional.
For me, the lesson took root in 2021 during the Cyclothon, an 845-mile road-cycling relay race around Iceland. When it was my turn to ride, I steeled my face and pedaled furiously as if my life depended on it. My Icelandic cycling counterpart, Hordur, quickly noticed my head-down intensity and beseeched me “to keep my head up or I would miss the best part of the race.”
The remarkable scenery observed and the relationships developed over the 49-hour ordeal proved Hordur entirely correct. With this learning, I considered how I might apply it elsewhere.
After virtually dispensing with my bike computer (fitness tracker), I turned to the object upon which I gaze the most in time and frequency. Like you, it is not our significant other’s radiant face. Redirecting Hordur’s wisdom, I reduced my phone screen time by one hour per day.
The reduction alone is as beneficial as what has replaced it. My psyche is unburdened by emotional investment in the conspiracy theories, clickbait stories, memes, etc. found on Facebook or TikTok’s line dance and talking cat reels. Do you believe access to such content makes us more informed in any meaningful sense or happier than our ancestors who did not have it?
While there is some virtuous content on social media, the preponderance of the useless drowns out the useful. The haystack obscures the needle. Where else would you invest so much time for so little return?
Where can we go?
Of course, nature abhors a vacuum and the newly recovered time will be spent elsewhere. I suggest you invest it in reading, listening to podcasts, faith practices, etc. I trust you will experience the same overall improvement in disposition I have. You might also find some moments filled with precious human interaction. Perhaps you will not part of a restaurant table with every diner forgoing fellowship for screen time.
The over-50 crowd cannot look too far down its nose upon the current generation as we were almost equally mesmerized by the device our grandparents called the “idiot box.” We fixated on the TV and our grandparents lamented, “The TV will lead to the destruction of family time” (as the transistor radio did to theirs). I am not above reproach as I am under the spell of my laptop and it accompanies me like Linus’ blanket.
Anyway, the purpose of this message is not to complain about our errant ways but to encourage better ones. Allow me to offer a few suggestions.
First, do not carry the phone into the bathroom like your father’s newspaper.
Second, resist the temptation to check the screen at every idle moment. Has the cellular phone rendered daydreaming extinct? You can wait in line at the grocery store or sit at the table while your companion uses the restroom without checking your phone. Alternatively, you can engage in Omphaloskepsis, an ancient meditative practice you might know by its more common name, contemplating your navel.
Third, employ technical measures such as a Do Not Disturb mode outside of work hours that only allows calls or messages from your favorites category, turn off notices for almost all apps, and establish no phone-checking time periods.
While reduction methods are useful, you will accomplish more by increasing a positive practice you already have or one you desire. Let the good drown out the bad.
