The benefits brought about by the wave of digitization cannot be ignored-it has made processes efficient, connects people remotely and enabled high degree of accessibility across various aspects. The transformation wave has been so impactful that if left unchecked, just like any other thing, it’s cons would (in fact it already has) start rearing its ugly head. Because as the saying goes “too much of everything is bad”.
What was the last personal activity you did peacefully, totally into the zone, without the constant pings from the mobile phone? How long did this moment last? For most people, the frequency and duration both would fall in the low bracket. And excepting the task that required going outside, for many people the source of interruption may have been some sort of electronic media.
On the reading side, what was the last book you read? Was it a physical book or a digital one? In case of the latter, did you finish it or are there still pages left which you intend to pick up some other time in the future which will never come. That’s because, despite the many advantages of an e-book in terms of portability and accessibility, our untrained eyes and minds were fundamentally not trained to extract information from an electronic interface to process it. And that’s the reason reading a physical book feels more comfortable and enjoyable over a digital one (of course excepting a handful few). And due to this reason, the no. of half-read books, despite being enjoyable, are increasing in the digital libraries of people.
And these are just a few examples of digital interference in everyday life.
Our daily life is best enjoyed with minimal digital aspects involved. This way we get to experience life as it was supposed to be-with all its exhilarations and boredom. Case in point, the best moments in life are mostly time spent with loved ones, devoid of any interruption, talking face-to-face. Or it can be the time lost within the pages of an excellent novel as you travel a new world with the fantastical companions of the books.
This is not a case against digitization. In fact, digitization has made our lives esp. work lives so much easier. Yet knowing where to draw a boundary is of paramount importance for ensuring the digital signal do not intervene across the best moments of your life.
It is ok to miss a few calls, reply to some mails the next day or catch up on the latest happenings later. What is not ok is missing out on the moments of life which will never come back out of fear of missing out on trivial things communicated through digital media.
So, each day, log out and switch off from the digital world completely and live life, each moment in all its glory and frustration, as it was always intended to be. No matter our past generations were much happier and content folks than us, a generation plagued with greater mental fragility and emotional trauma.
Live life like it’s the last day of your life, each day. And remember, it’s one life baby!!!
See you tomorrow!!!
Klikomo 