Today's #ThrowbackThursday post is going old school. It's talking about the world before the internet and all it has bought with it.
Let's not confuse things, I love the internet. I love the digital age and I especially love having access to all the knowledge and information the internet can offer you at the swipe of a finger...however there are a lot of ways that I think the internet has made us go backwards a bit in our own evolution as a species.
- We've got lazy in retaining knowledge - I love learning things and while access to the internet has made it easier to learn things it's made us more reluctant to retain that knowledge. Why keep knowledge when you have a portable device in your pocket that gives you full access to that knowledge at any time of the day or night?
- Instant gratification - the world is so used to posting up statuses, comments, jokes, pictures and videos and instantly receiving feedback that if we don't get it in other ways we struggle. I know lots of people that when they do some work if you don't give them a pat on the back pretty swiftly they wonder what is wrong with it. The concept of patience, waiting and even responding to someone's request when you can has disappeared and it is so much more apparent in those that are avid social media users. They are so used to getting multiple 'Likes' that if they don't have similar experiences in real life they begin questioning themselves
- Communication - we struggle to communicate. It sounds completely crazy but we now struggle to have meaningful conversation that used to be second nature. Nowadays phone calls are extremely rare and communication is done via word based messages, on the go, between activities. We don't dedicate any time to communication and as such, although we can now communicate with people around the world instantly, we are probably more disengaged with each other than ever.
- Focus - the biggest issue I come across all the time. I am just as guilty of this as anyone. We are so used to mentally multi-tasking that we now find it hard to focus when we need to. Walking down the road often entails checking notifications from Instagram, Snapchat, replying to Whatsapp messages or texts, checking Facebook notifications, Tweeting about something silly we've spotted. So when we are in one place to do one activity, is it any surprise that we struggle. I see people in meetings constantly zoning out (not only when I talk), picking up their phones and actually checking their social media accounts, taking selfies and posting them in their Snapchat or Instagram stories.
Having the internet has revolutionised the world in so many ways but sometimes it does feel like we've lost some of the basics of being human in return for convenience at the swipe of a screen.
Maybe a digital detox should be encouraged more....but with the spread of everything digital, can you actually disconnect fully?
Food for thought.
Ciao for now x
