I’ve been off all social media for 2 weeks.
Life is deeper.
Things are one step closer to how it was, Before.
Before, there was no social media. Before, there was no Netflix. Before, there were no texts. Before, there was no email. Before, there was no world wide web. Before, there was no TV.
Before, you called someone on the phone, and you felt vulnerable.
Before, you looked someone in the eye, and you communicated meaning behind the words.
Before, you listened to baseball on the radio on a summer night and your brainwaves maintained steadiness. No apps pulled your attention. No cortisol and dopamine were released as you surfed the web. You wound down. You slept better.
Before, there were closer families, richer communities. More group cohesion. More presence. Less distraction. More oxytocin was produced.
Now, I’m not calling for a return to the Before. I know nostalgia can be dangerous and there are plenty of reasons that Before, life was less enjoyable. I also like blogging. I like podcasts. I like access to information. I like air conditioning, Uber, and Amazon Prime. And while families and communities were closer, they were often more constraining on the individual.
Yet, to paraphrase from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, technology increases convenience, yet decreases Quality.
Technology has provided us with increased ease, comfort, creativity, independence, freedom, and even connection.
With great power, comes great responsibility. How will we use it? Can we empower ourselves to maintain those advances, while replenishing and extracting the benefits of the Before?
Perhaps most important, will we stay conscious of the everyday water in which we swim?