Battling “permanent receptivity”

1 min read

The value of unplugging in the Age of Distraction

There is also something sadder at work. The constant messaging, emailing and cellphoning, especially in public places, may be less about communicating with the people on the other end as about signaling to those around that you are so busy or so important, so connected, that you exist in more than just the here and now, clearly a diminished state of just being.

There’s greater status in being highly connected and constantly communicating. This may explain why many people speak so loudly on their cellphones in public places.

Sometimes it seems that our use of devices and social media is about chasing after something, distant from us, that will alter the spot where we are. Disconnecting for periods of time may be a bit Zen - simply being in the moment, where we are, and who we are. I find myself struggling to do this myself.