I recently read a report that suggested that today’s children may have amassed over 60.000 hours of screen time by the age of 30!! This report caused me to ponder the outcomes that could arise within the individual, from such a massive exposure to today’s technology. The sheer reach of the internet has allowed global societies to connect with each other in way’s we never previously dreamed possible. Whilst this has provided some incredibly positive outcomes, it is also contributing to a plethora of devastating impacts on society.
Pre internet generations gained their wisdom and knowledge through the power of positive parenting, schooling, reading and communication within our communities. We would receive information that we would then decipher, critique, retain or dispel, dependent upon our instinct or gut feel. We could or would take time to absorb what we learnt, without feeling bombarded by this information. Today’s generations are so confronted by all forms of media that they barely have time to breath before the next upload or download hits them.
We know from experience the power advertising has upon the decisions we make as consumers, but have we considered the sublime messaging that we, and our children are confronted with every minute, of every hour spent online? My concern for the younger generations is that they will become so indoctrinated by the power of technology that they will lose the ability to think for themselves, intuitively.
Society has developed over the centuries through our human ability to think, rationalise and make judgement via our “inner senses,” which have ironically brought us to this point in time. My hope is that as humans, we don’t trade our intuition for complete faith in www. It is imperative that we step back from the tech as often as possible, breath, focus on what is happening in each moment and place extreme faith in our human ability to love, communicate, feel joy and happiness rather than becoming slaves to the machine.