Digital Well-Being in Our Hyperconnected World
Last month, I was at the General Assembly for the other college that I work with, and they had an amazing guest speaker who gave yet another mind-bending thought exercise about AI and the future world we may be moving toward.
Now I am not a technology junkie, nor am I an early adopter with most technology (Thank you to those of you who are, I’m learning from you!). Most of my questions and reflections center around both the ethics that govern our use of technology, as well as the pervasive need to guard our humanity amidst our life in the digital age. This feels both personal and professional for me – I’m GenX, and we were the first generation to parent our GenZ children in the digital age (my kids were born in this world and are the ‘digital pros’, while their dad is the ‘digital noob’). While doing our very best, we really did not know what we were doing and made rookie parenting mistakes that we are now learning from and trying to correct. As James Bryan Smith says, “Technology is always 2 or 3 steps ahead of our ethics and our etiquette.”
I read an article this week about ‘digital well-being in our hyperconnected world.’ This phrase really resonates with me, as it highlights the concerns about the cultural waters that we are swimming in:
1) We now know the addictive tendencies of digital activity and its effects on our brains and resulting mental wellness. Short-term dopamine hits at the cost of long-term tendencies toward boredom, anxiety, and depression.
2) Similarly, our self-esteem and security is shaken when we play the comparison game on social media and judge people’s best (pretend) posted selves to our worst or mundane selves.
3) In the digital world of ‘hyperconnectivity’ we are, paradoxically, more connected and attached than ever, and yet there is an ever-widening gap between our increased lived experience of isolation and the fundamental truth of our interconnectedness and interdependence.
4) Truth is now for sale and at stake. The increasing levels of misinformation and holing up in our preferred echo chambers are fueling our confirmation biases…we would rather be right instead of getting it right.
5) Our society is more polarized than ever. We are losing trust and the ability to read our neighbor generously, especially when they see the world differently than us.
I have crafted and try to live by, in spiritual terms, what is called a Rule of Life. And my Rule now includes what I am calling in this article a ‘digital practice,’ an articulated relationship I want to have with technology that comes out of my values and desired well-being. As we are in the beginning of another semester, not to mention also in an election year where tensions are already high in the digital world, I want to invite you to reflect on your desired digital activity and well-being. The following categories and resulting questions may be helpful:
1) Using our technology well:
• How have you recently simplified and curated your digital activity and media consumption?
• Are you laser-focused on the reasons behind your use of technology?
• How does your digital activity promote both your well-being as well as the well-being of others?
• What are your levels of empathy toward others in light of your digital activity?
2) How to regularly disconnect from technology:
• Do you have at least 1-hour a day that you are away from your phone? An extended time of multiple hours away at least once a week?
• How are attending to your in-person interactions vs. digital interaction and relationships?
May you be well, and may you do good.
Your cheerleader and chaplain,
Adam
Blog written by Adam Gray
