Blowing It Scenario #82-Too Much Screen Time.

The Belief That Interacting With a Screen Is The Same As Interacting With An Individual.

Now I’m sure most of us don’t assume this to be true, but it is how we treat most of our lives. Screens have become our intermediary to the world. From texting on our phone to social media to email. We are not having conversations with other people we are having conversations with ourselves which are directed at another and facilitated through a third party. In most cases this is our computer, phone, or tablet. As I’m writing this I’m not having a conversation with you, it’s a conversation with myself that I hope you eventually read and respond to. I’d prefer to have this conversation in person but this has a much farther reaching potential. And that is why we use this third party we call a computer.

It is what drew us to the siren song of computers and the internet in the first place. The ability to interact with millions if not billions of individuals all around the world with just some text, video, or audio, all at your finger tips with just the click of a button. We are losing our ability to communicate with others without having our intermediary devices. Our computers, phones and tablets have become our side kick, wing man, and crutch. Many now freeze up and cower at the first sign that they will have to talk in person with another individual. It’s no surprise so many claim to have social anxiety. We literally reinforce that belief with every single text or email we send. We are saying we would much rather interact through this device then have to talk person to person.

Often its the most convenient form of communication. You can send an email and the receiver can check it at their earliest convenience. But hopefully you are using it as the tool it is. And you working towards obtaining future communication in person or at the very least over the phone. Because that is what these devices were meant to be. Simply a tool to advance society and share information. Not to aggrandize our vanity or flock to our hovel only to hide behind our screen to denigrate others. It’s tool intended to better humanity, we must use it for that purpose, all else is just complicating our lives.

Further more a concern we should keep an eye on, is chat bots are becoming more and more advanced by the day. Soon you may not ever be chatting to another human on the the other end. We won’t even have to communicate with another if we don’t want to. The days of asking a friend, parent or loved one an answer to a question are already fast becoming obsolete. Why ask when you have Google, Siri, and Alexa? I’m not saying it’s all bad but like with anything that can become addictive, practicing moderation is paramount in order to not fall into the abyss. When it’s sheer terror to you to have to interact with another, it’s time to put down the device and practice relationship skills again. Oh and while your at it, call your mom more too.



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