“To be everywhere is to be nowhere.” – Seneca
There was a point in my life, where handling a myriad of tasks at any given time I believed to be admirable. With experience, understanding and foresight it has become woefully obvious as stated by Nicholas Carr in a recent Wall Street Journal article. . . “A growing body of scientific evidence suggests that the Net, with its constant distractions and interruptions, is also turning us into scattered and superficial thinkers.” This is becoming a consistent constancy, rather than a mere observation on levels that threaten creativity.
What is the response to continuous distraction? More importantly, within the milieu of the individual, is there a conscious awareness in place to recognize the existent concern? It takes an accute concious choice of will, to become aware of what may be insidiously destructive within our environment, producing cognitive regression. Eric Fromm has stated this observation quite well, “The danger of the past was that man became slaves, the danger of the future is that man may become robots.”
As so aptly illuminated by Nicholas Carr, “What we seem to be sacrificing in all our surfing and searching is our capacity to engage in the quieter, attentive modes of thought that underpin contemplation, reflection and introspection.” Without these fundamental attributes intrinsically embued within our being, we will distance ourselves from our own consciousness using the robotic essence of technology.
Once again, we have choice. It has always existed, and when we understand how important that choice is in any given moment . . . using the skill set of concious awareness, we free ourselves from technological bondage. It is crystal clear through the words of Eric Fromm, “Man always dies before he is fully born. Creativeness means to be born before one dies.” And now, what will you choose? JLR