Cultural ADD
Saturday, January 1st, 2005
Life Interrupted looks at the balance between being connected (mobile phone, wifi, rss feeds) and trying to lead a more contemplative life. This article gets right at the heart of the two “plates” (ideas, lifestyles) rubbing past each other. I like to look at my feeds and then cut firewood. Somehow that works for me. Or does it?
Happy New Year Richard! Am back browsing your site after a week of sundry distractions… and what do I find but an article discussing the very thing I was puzzling over during the fiddly moment when I cut away from work and your bookmarked blog popped onto my screen. Am glad minds more focussed than mine are turning over what I think is a signal issue of our times. Thanks for bringing this to my ever-scattering attention.
LJ: I’ve been tracking this for a while and it’s now a hot topic in many domains but I’m afraid it will not be handled well in many or any. I think one of the core culprits is network TV and our societal addiction to it and the fact that the folks to produce it amplify troubling values, like an echo amplifying instead of diminishing.
Richard, the article does raise a lot of concerns I have about being so “connected.” As you suggest in your post, it’s tough to find a balance today, because being online so much takes a lot of time. Here’s related article, noting the ongoing rise in internet use, and decline in TV watching. Personally, I don’t know anyone who’s cut back on TV, though. Though I am proud to say my TV is on only about 4 hours per month.
http://nytimes.com/2004/12/30/technology/30internet.html