Your Digital Life
09/06/10
03:57
I’ve been
reflecting recently on how technology imposes itself
on everyday life. The jeremiads concerning the
decline in civilised standards as a result of
technological advancement have always struck me as
short-sighted, in the same way as the accusations
that the novel exercised a corrupting influence over
nineteenth century culture have come to seem absurd.
But technology has changed the way I think, and it
has changed my daily routine. I’m not a slave
to my technology - I can happily turn my phone off
for the weekend - but I am more easily distracted
than I used to be, ever alert to the incoming email
or message, always willing to have my head turned.
The New York Times has a fascinating article on this phenomenon. It seems that the short term rewards of being always connected are physiologically very difficult to resist. They ‘play to a primitive impulse to respond to immediate opportunities and threats. The stimulation provokes excitement — a dopamine squirt — that researchers say can be addictive. In its absence, people feel bored.’
You can read the whole article here.
You can also read leading commentators on how to manage your digital life here.
And with that, it’s time for me to switch off.
The New York Times has a fascinating article on this phenomenon. It seems that the short term rewards of being always connected are physiologically very difficult to resist. They ‘play to a primitive impulse to respond to immediate opportunities and threats. The stimulation provokes excitement — a dopamine squirt — that researchers say can be addictive. In its absence, people feel bored.’
You can read the whole article here.
You can also read leading commentators on how to manage your digital life here.
And with that, it’s time for me to switch off.