Thoraiya DyerInternet Stole Your Social Life? Part 2
November 15th 2006 10:10
David Brooks (author, Bobos in Paradise) just uttered the words from my mouth when he wrote "Time to Do Everything but Think."
Here's a "sketch" of what the Wireless Society will be like...and what the Wireless Man will be doing, according to Brooks.
"....So there he sits in total freedom on that Rocky Mountain peak. The sky is blue. The air is crisp. Then the phone rings. His assistant wants to know if he wants to switch the company's overnight carrier. He turns off his phone so he can enjoy a little spiritual bliss. But there's the laptop. Maybe somebody sent him an important e-mail. He wrestles with his conscience. His conscience loses. It's so easy to check, after all...
He does everything fast...he's bought the fastest machines, and now the idea of waiting for something to download is a personal insult. His brain is operating at peak RPMs.
He sits amid nature's grandeur and says, "It's beautiful. But it's not moving. I wonder if I got any new voice mails." He's addicted to the perpetual flux of the information networks. He craves his next data fix. He's a speed freak, an info junkie. He wants to slow down, but can't.
Today's business people live in an overcommunicated world. There are too many websites, too many reports, too many bits of information bidding for their attention. The main scarcity in life is no longer money, but time. Those are able to match the pace and survive will guard every precious second, the way a desert wanderer guards his water.
The problem with all these speed, and the frantic energy that is spent using time efficiently, is that it undermines creativity. If your brain is always multitasking, or responding to techno-prompts, there is no time or energy for undirected mental play.
Furthermore, if you're consumed by the same information loop circulating around everyone else, you won't be stimulated into thinking differently. You're just swept along in the same narrow current as everyone else, which is swift but not deep. "
And as I close my laptop, my phone rings. My friend calls and says, "So where exactly will we meet each other at the Nokia event?"
Thankfully, I still have a life outside the virtual world!
Here's a "sketch" of what the Wireless Society will be like...and what the Wireless Man will be doing, according to Brooks.
"....So there he sits in total freedom on that Rocky Mountain peak. The sky is blue. The air is crisp. Then the phone rings. His assistant wants to know if he wants to switch the company's overnight carrier. He turns off his phone so he can enjoy a little spiritual bliss. But there's the laptop. Maybe somebody sent him an important e-mail. He wrestles with his conscience. His conscience loses. It's so easy to check, after all...
He sits amid nature's grandeur and says, "It's beautiful. But it's not moving. I wonder if I got any new voice mails." He's addicted to the perpetual flux of the information networks. He craves his next data fix. He's a speed freak, an info junkie. He wants to slow down, but can't.
Today's business people live in an overcommunicated world. There are too many websites, too many reports, too many bits of information bidding for their attention. The main scarcity in life is no longer money, but time. Those are able to match the pace and survive will guard every precious second, the way a desert wanderer guards his water.
The problem with all these speed, and the frantic energy that is spent using time efficiently, is that it undermines creativity. If your brain is always multitasking, or responding to techno-prompts, there is no time or energy for undirected mental play.
Furthermore, if you're consumed by the same information loop circulating around everyone else, you won't be stimulated into thinking differently. You're just swept along in the same narrow current as everyone else, which is swift but not deep. "
And as I close my laptop, my phone rings. My friend calls and says, "So where exactly will we meet each other at the Nokia event?"
Thankfully, I still have a life outside the virtual world!
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