Page 128 - Dash Inspirations by Linda Ellis

Fast Technology
I am not referring to the word fast as in quick, speedy, or rapid. I am suggesting we fast from technology more often, as in “to cause to abstain entirely from.” It has been said that if we don’t manage technology in our lives, it will manage us. I realized the truth in this statement when recently I considered, for a nanosecond, sending a text to my dog in the backyard to request that she stop barking.
People fast for religious reasons, in protest, and in preparation for medical tests. Addicts fast from drugs and alcohol to become more conscious, more present, in their own lives. These substances can change who the person is inside. Technology is slowly changing us, as well. We are able to use it to escape from our realities and to ignore our responsibilities.
I blindly entrust the maintenance of my life to a five-inch combination of metal, plastic, and glass that randomly hoists my personal information over a 5G network. It contains everything my brain cannot remember, or has given up trying. It has become an extension of myself. It has become a part of myself. It is my self phone.
Though I didn’t own this wondrous little miracle for the first half of my life, I now experience anxiety symptoms when I am separated from it for any length of time. I sleep with it by my bedside, and it is never more than a few feet from my position. I rely on its accuracy to remember birthdays and anniversaries of friends and relatives and impress my customers daily with rapid response time. Yet, even I, an admitted addict, recognize the need for moderation and occasional abstinence.
There is so much value to be found in the human touch and face-to-face communication. A video chat cannot provide a shoulder to catch a tear, a text cannot offer the sympathetic inflection of a kind word, multimedia messages are not able to extend arms to embrace a friend, and an email does not have the capability of holding a hand that needs to be held.
Dash Inspirations by Linda Ellis www.LindaEllis.life
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