If some pictures are worth a thousand words, this one makes for an entire book.
I open an app to review the news of the morning and, all of a sudden, I’m scrolling through funny video clips of a corporate dog, of kids acting like parents, parents acting like kids…hahaha…but the more I scroll, the less funny and the more scary clips get.
If it’s that easy for me to wander down that rabbit hole, no wonder the younger generations are addicted to their virtual companions. First, I confess, this exercise defeats the purpose of my praying beforehand. Some of the content frustrates me, and all that scrolling does is throw off my peace. It’s emotionally-exhausting. And I know I’m not alone in this.
We need a detox. We need to unplug. Smartphones and social media platforms are a double-edged sword. Even though they provide digital communication and content-sharing tools with many positive effects, they have many drawbacks. The loss of personal connection being the main one, obviously, with literacy issues a close second.
But how do we escape the social media scroll? Well, nothing like in-person connections, really, but in the absence of that, I love to read a good book – the printed and bound kind – and my digital companion is putting a damper on that. I need a detox.
For the moments I’m unplugged from Wi-Fi, spending time with loved ones or enthralled by a good book, and I am grateful.
What are you thankful for today?
Until next Thursday’s post…si Dios quiere.
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”
-A. Lamott
“There are only two industries that call its customers ‘users’: illegal drugs and software.”
-E. Tufte
“In a world of algorithms, hashtags, and followers, know the true importance of human connection.”
-S. Fromen
Eye opening for sure.