by Michael Shaw
As some of you may have noticed, our monthly think and drink is possibly undergoing a name change. Welcome to the monthly Thought Distillery! While not permanent quite yet, there has been plenty of positive feedback thus far to position our gathering for such a change.
During this months intellectual escapades, we discussed the topic of technology and the impact, positive or negative, that it currently plays on us individually, us as social creatures, those inside our organizations and those inside the professional sphere at large.
In opening the discussion the story was shared about drafting this events discussion outline and how in that one brief 30 min period of “dedicated” work I stopped to look at my phone twice, messed with four separate computer applications and stopped to have three separate brief conversations with those around me. Furthermore, as I draft this summary I have opened and searched five websites that may or may not be applicable to this text, searched though my bank account and played with my dogs. While not all technologically connected, I argued this past week and will continue to believe that we are currently overly stimulated and continuously distracted by irrelevant and unnecessary actions, notifications, interactions and communications. Society at large has let technology control and drive daily interactions whether they be with friends, colleagues, commercial enterprises or academic exploration. While not necessarily overall, it is this individuals opinion from this weeks conversation that we need to take back control of our time, our energy and our overall connectedness to the technological world.
The influence of technology in our daily life offend goes unchecked or self-unregulated. Perhaps it is time to take an unbiased look at how much time each of us are spending engaged with technology and how much of that time is necessary, self-induced, helping o hindering all other factors. Is the work cell really that much of a help or is the 24/7 expectation not allowing people to truly disconnect when they get home for that much needed separation from work? If 24/7 connectivity is truly such a win, then why are corporations looking to reward and incentivize those who disconnect?
There is no easy answer and technology is not going to disappear, that genie is out of the bottle and will not go back in. So where do we go from here? This conversation is very much worth having at all levels.
For those that want to dig a little deeper, here are some readings that you might find interesting.
Books:
Board and Brilliant by Manoush Zomorodi
The Honest Truth about Dishonesty by Dan Ariely
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Articles:
Your Identity has Three Layers and You Can Only Protect One of Them
The Surprising Benefits of Boredom
New Research Answers Whether Technology is Good or Bad for Learning