The more I remove myself from nature and the more I increase my availability to the modern world, the more restless I become. The more unhappy, too.
Philosophy for Polar Explorers, Erling Kagge
“Always on and always connected.”
When I was growing up, this phrased was used heavily by broadband companies to advertise the fact that you didn’t need to manually connect to the internet on dial up any more. Now you could be permanently connected to the internet without any downtime.
That worked great for the explosive growth of the internet. In fact, if you happened to exist as any sort of technical device it was great news, an interconnected, data-driven world was on the horizon, and the coming dawn seemed to glow fiercely in anticipation.
Fast forward 20 years and we see what we have lost just as clearly as we see what we have gained. We twitch for our devices as soon as we wake up, they are the last thing we let go of before we sleep, and our human anxieties and emotional insecurities are amplified by the digital world we have absorbed.
Technology has not liberated the average person, but rather held us captive in golden chains. Without pursuing an intent-based approach to technology, we are carried upon the crest of its waves, drifting wherever it may take us.
No longer are we disturbed only by the local controversies of our village and families, but rather we are fed despair at every tragic world event no matter how distant. Our shoulders were never meant to bear this burden.
Every once in a while, step out of the system. Turn off your phone, ignore your never ending emails and breathe in fresh, unpolluted air and enjoy the relationships you have with the people closest to you.
Disconnect from the system to reconnect with yourself. Manage and curate and your experiences with the digital world with intent and purpose.