Time to think

Posted by on 12 August 2011 9:36 Leave a comment (4) Go to comments

I recently read an article entitled “Why We Should Keep Wi-Fi Off Airplanes” by Scott Belsky. Here’s what he said:

In the era of “reactionary workflow,” when we’re always eager to react, respond, and surf the tops of our many feeds and inboxes, we seldom start a thought on our own. We don’t disconnect for long enough to really think organically, without interruption.

In an era where most thoughts are prompted by a stimulus of the hyper-connected-twitter-e-mail kind, we seldom disconnect long enough to think organically—independent of the stuff we are reacting to.

I’ve pondered this problem before. One of the things I loved when I first got a smartphone was the constant connectivity, no matter whether I was in Wi-Fi range or not. I received emails within minutes of their being sent. Twitter mentions got my immediate attention. Even Facebook notifications came to my home screen. It was great.

Then several months ago, I decided to switch back to a dumbphone and use my iPod Touch for everything else. The thing I loved about the switch was how liberated I felt. No longer was I always connected, with emails and tweets constantly clamoring for my attention. Even when I was in Wi-Fi range, those things weren’t nearly as intrusive. It was wonderful. I could live life disconnected when I wanted to.

One thing I appreciate about religion is the invitation to ponder, meditate, and think. Without that, I would be running around constantly connected and never stopping to think for myself or enjoy life for its own sake. That has become such an important thing for me that I try to devote an entire day to it once a week. Sunday is a welcome break from the noise and distraction of the rest of my life.

Technology has allowed us humans to connect in many ways that were never possible before. But the most fulfilling interactions still come in old-fashioned ways–talking face to face, doing things together, enjoying nature or the arts. Those things prompt independent, “organic” thought, as Scott calls it. That is critical to our functioning as humans.

I disagree that it means we need to keep Wi-Fi off planes. Instead, the desire for thought and meditation ought to be an intrinsic motivator itself that guides us to give it priority.

EDIT (17 Aug 2011): Dave Pell wrote a post today entitled “Does the Internet Make You More Connected?” that I highly recommend. It fits nicely with my thoughts here.

networking
  • http://alltyler.com Tyler Smith

    This is an issue that I constantly think about. I recently downgraded to a dumbphone as well. But it didn’t take too long before I was back on the smartphone. I flip flop on this faster than a politician! 

    I suppose I should just be grateful that I have an intrinsic desire to meditate, to have organic thought, and to enjoy face-to-face experiences with people. 

    I stopped blogging recently because I was having a hard time seeing any value in it. Pondering the thoughts you’ve shared here, however, I wonder if blogging provides a good platform for organic thought. Commenting and resharing on social platforms is generally devoid of original thought. Blog posts (at least for me) are a chance to develop and express home-grown thoughts and ideas, even if no one reads them. 

    On the other hand, the best place to enjoy organic thinking is in real life. With others. Or pondering on your own. 

    If you can’t tell, I’m torn.

  • http://globalconstant.scnay.com/ Steve Nay

    I know what you mean. I find it easier to express myself in writing than in speaking, so blogging and journal writing are the perfect platforms for me to develop and express my thoughts. I wouldn’t give them up for that reason. Social platforms provide a good way to stimulate thought; this post itself was prompted by something I saw in a feed. The problem comes when “commenting and resharing” is the entire extent of your thought about the things you read. Organic thought requires that you take it offline and ponder it on your own, as you said.

    If I had to pick two Internet presences to maintain right now and no more, I would keep my blog and I would keep Facebook. This blog (and my other one) let me express the organic thoughts I have, and Facebook lets me keep in contact with the people I know in real life that matter to me, even though I might not live near them anymore. I could do without Twitter or Google+, as enjoyable and useful as they are.

    At any rate, I find blogging to be a better way to communicate and have meaningful conversations with people that status updates on whatever service.

  • Brian James

    Surprisingly enough, this seems rather pertinent to me at this point. I’ve been over in Europe for the last two months and have been less connected than I have been for quite some time. I’ve been fortunate enough to have my wife with me for the most of it, but the past two weeks I’ve been off on my own, and I’ve really noticed that lack of organic conversation, and I realize how much I crave it, even on days when I’m wishing I could just get away from all the people around me. I’ve had stints of trying to find some form of fulfilling conversation via social media and come up lacking. Instant messaging is much closer to real conversation, but you still can’t help but notice how vital that organic conversation is to my own happiness and drive.

    That being said, I agree with your conclusion–WiFi probably should be put on airplanes. It can be useful to be connected in taking care of business or perhaps loose ends, depending on the nature of your travel. I usually bore of the internet pretty quickly, so I don’t know that it would make that big of a difference anyways. But then, maybe I’ll change my mind some day. For now though, I’d say the ability to connect is good, so long as we also use our ability to disconnect.

  • http://globalconstant.scnay.com/ Steve Nay

    Well said. The responsibility is still ours. Technology will advance as it always has. That comes with advantages and disadvantages. We need to use it well.