I was at a conference last summer (BlogHer '13) with five thousand other women (plus about twenty token men, brave souls!) and nearly three times that figure in smart phones, laptops, iPads, Blue Tooths...you name it, those women were WIRED, and I'm not talking about the coffee. (I'm including myself in that figure, with iPad and iPhone in tow.)
I hadn't been to a professional conference in years, so I was genuinely shocked at the collective Attention Deficit Disorder in the conference hall, where very few people looked at the speakers for longer than two minutes straight. Sure, many attendees were typing notes from the lectures on their MacBooks. But they were also busy Tweeting, Friending, texting, snapping photos of each other, and updating their blogs during the keynotes. One attendee was using her laptop to order shoes from Zappos. (I kid you not.)
The Zappos customer wasn't the most surprising tech-addict in the bunch. No, I'd give that title to one of the panelists, who was texting while she was sitting on the stage and another panelist was talking. Updating her Twitter feed or texting her nanny? I don't have the answer. I only know that I found it jarring to see somebody on the stage paying more attention to her phone than to her audience. This isn't a critique of BlogHer, because it turns out (from talking to others about this subject) that this is the norm for conferences these days--even conferences that aren't inherently about internet-based careers. Low attention span mixed with hyper-connectedness is just a given.
But why are we hyper-connected these days, online more than we're offline? I have a few guesses. Do any of the following ring true for you?
- We're bored. The people online might be more interesting than the people we're with.
- We need a crutch in social situations. It's hard to make conversation with strangers.
- We're programmed to be multi-taskers and don't like wasting time by "just sitting there."
- We're afraid of missing something. ("FOMO" is the new term for "Fear of Missing Out.")
- We crave some instant validation of the online variety, that little "thumbs-up" that we're doing something smart, creative, funny, or envy-inducing.
There was a popular "Hippie" phrase back in the 1970's: "Be Here Now", coined by Ram Dass, a spiritual leader. It seems like we could use more of that mindset today, don't you think?
More mindful focus, less mindless distraction.
Not giving anybody in our presence the idea that "you're my second choice."
Because the more our eyes are glued to a screen, the less likely we're having a focused conversation.
...Or reading something more meaningful than the latest celebrity gossip.
...Or taking a walk in the park and really noticing our natural surroundings.
...Or just plain old daydreaming, which I happen to think is a very worthwhile, highly undervalued thing to do.
As a blogger who needs to be connected to a screen while I work, this is an ongoing struggle for me. But I'm trying to keep it all in balance. I'm trying (and sometimes failing) to "Be Here Now."
How about you?
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© 2014 by Joy Sussman/JoyfullyGreen.com. All rights reserved. Photos and text digitally fingerprinted and watermarked. Site licensed by Creative Commons.
Please share in the comments section below.
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Don't get left out in the cold! Register now for my March photography e-course, "How to Take Better Photos of Nature and the World Around You." Learn more and register here.
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© 2014 by Joy Sussman/JoyfullyGreen.com. All rights reserved. Photos and text digitally fingerprinted and watermarked. Site licensed by Creative Commons.
- See more at: http://www.joyfullygreen.com/2014/02/how-to-enjoy-the-great-outdoors-without-leaving-the-house.html#sthash.uryrqKSN.dpufPlease share in the comments section below.
*****************************************************************************************************************
Don't get left out in the cold! Register now for my March photography e-course, "How to Take Better Photos of Nature and the World Around You." Learn more and register here.
********************************************************************************************************************
© 2014 by Joy Sussman/JoyfullyGreen.com. All rights reserved. Photos and text digitally fingerprinted and watermarked. Site licensed by Creative Commons.
- See more at: http://www.joyfullygreen.com/2014/02/how-to-enjoy-the-great-outdoors-without-leaving-the-house.html#sthash.uryrqKSN.dpufPlease share in the comments section below.
*****************************************************************************************************************
Don't get left out in the cold! Register now for my March photography e-course, "How to Take Better Photos of Nature and the World Around You." Learn more and register here.
********************************************************************************************************************
© 2014 by Joy Sussman/JoyfullyGreen.com. All rights reserved. Photos and text digitally fingerprinted and watermarked. Site licensed by Creative Commons.
- See more at: http://www.joyfullygreen.com/2014/02/how-to-enjoy-the-great-outdoors-without-leaving-the-house.html#sthash.uryrqKSN.dpuf
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