There are many times that I have told myself that I’m simply going to put the computer away, leave the phone at home and start getting back to nature and leaving this technology-filled world behind for a little bit. But one thing I have realized is that as much as I have fought it, it’s probably time to admit that there’s a serious addiction that’s happening. It might not be terrible, but even as I sit here writing this I wonder if it would be better to go wander around in the rain instead of sitting here. Now don’t get me wrong, there’s many things I love about technology: the ability to watch just about any show imaginable, learning about history or topics that I’m interested in, watching some college basketball, etc., but that shouldn’t justify the reason why so much time is spent with tech in hand.
Overusing Technology for the Bad?
For many years I had held off on joining social media sites like Facebook or Twitter, and along the way,somehow, someway I got sucked right into them. I felt that to share some stories, see more of what’s happening out there, I had to jump on board, so I did. There’s some things I enjoy, but it seems like the majority of the time on social media is spent wondering why it is that I’m looking at what I am. Just like most other people I find myself getting sucked into reading a story or watching a video that does absolutely nothing to make me better, smarter, or stronger. It’s just like junk keeps crawling deep inside the brain and burrows in there so deep that at times it feels impossible to remove. Now, let me say…I don’t think I’m nearly as bad as some people. I don’t crawl through Facebook, Twitter, and the internet all day long and get the shakes every single time I’m without it. But for someone who would like to get back to the simpleness, or maintain a life of simpleness, sometimes it’s like the technology has taken over a bit too much. By the way, I’m not blaming technology for any of this. I blame myself, and I know that I have to be stronger.
A Return to the Real World
I’m not telling anyone anything knew, but I really do think that we better start getting back to sitting down at a coffee shop or a bar and start talking again. The idea that we sit there and pretend to look at email or somebody’s new post is ridiculous. It’s time to stop fearing real world interaction and start acting like civilized human beings again. I want to loosen the reigns on the technology that has seemingly shackled me more recently. I’m not going to eliminate it, or move into the backwoods (yet), but I am going to try my best to start limiting my use some. Perhaps it’s time to challenge myself to learn something new. I’ve always talked about learning a new language, but I’ve never followed up on it. I kind of learned to play guitar, but not well enough. I’ve always said that ‘someday I will learn,’ but I haven’t. Someday. Someday. ‘Somedaaaaaay Never Comes….oh someday it never cooomes.’ Cough. Bad singing voice. Back to it. Anyway, I want to challenge myself to become better, stronger, healthier. Instead of using technology for the bad, or the negative parts of it, embrace the tools that it provides and use it in a whole new way. Maybe a mix of both. Yes. that’s what I’ll do.
