I'm not sure that technology has factored into the area of balancing my work and private life or not. It has certainly helped as far as communication goes at work and in life. It has been helpful when I reach out to encourage and uplift others. It helps every day when I try to post something on Facebook that will make others laugh or feel good. I certainly use technology both at work and in life. But, does it help me with the balance of the two? I don't see it if it does. Technology helps and hinders both at work and in life. I just don't believe it either helps or hinders when it comes to the balance between the two. It helps that I can keep in touch with work-related communication when I am at home, and it helps me communicate with home when I'm at work. But that seems to be the end of the assistance. This is a good thing in that it keeps me from being surprised when I get to work and it keeps me from worrying about things at home while I'm at work. Of course, it goes the other way, too. It can stress me out over what I have to face at work the next day and it can increase my worry about what is going on at home while I'm at work. A double-edged sword I suppose. Or, the good with the bad. Something like that.
Technology can be a hindrance in just about anything we do. It keeps us from talking face-to-face as much. It keeps us inside in front of artificial light. It ruins our eyesight and our attention span. It messes with our social skills and keeps us inactive. We are constantly distracted by our devices and we exhibit rude behavior in the company of others. It has made it easier for us to bully others and to have our lives stolen by thieves. We were so impressed by technology, that we got all caught up in the web and we can't find our way out. Not only that, but we don't seem that interested in an escape. We all seem to be on the fast track to being overtaken by those who are so technology savvy, that they can do so. Could it be that believeing our society needs to be the way it was decades ago is naive? Considering the way society is changing in the ways of technolgy, yes. If we don't evolve with the changes, we're sunk.
Communication via techology can be viewed as another step in the evolution of communication. Yes, our eyes are on our digital devices almost constantly anymore, but we are communicating. And we're doing so on a much larger scale in this world of ever advancing technology. The desire to communicate has stayed the same, the stage and equipment have changed and this has opened up the world to us. Think about commuters, back in the day, who read books or the newspaper on their daily excursions. The difference now is that we read those books and newspapers on digital devices. We are still interacting with objects instead of people. Only the objects have changed. And, in some cases, we are communicating with our friends and family instead of reading books and newspapers because the technology makes it possible for us to do so even while we are traveling and they are not with us.
Yes, there are negative effects from using digital devices, especially as much as we do. But the benefits are still ahead of the negatives. Yes, there are bad people out there who are going to try and use technology to steal our identity or get close to our children and so on, but we don't have to make this easy for them. The world of technology is advancing rapidly and it is fascinating. Armed with education and protection, this can be quite exciting.
It's a cunumdrum, this rapidly advancing technological world. How do you find a balance?
Still looking.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if any of us ever really find balance or if we simply think we do.
DeletePam, I have never thought about this before. I guess the use of technology just sneaks up on us and perhaps becomes part of our normal. It has in my world anyway. Since I don't like to talk on the phone for more than absolutely necessary, texting, emailing, Facebook and even Blogger make my life more enjoyable. It is now part of my "normal" and perhaps that's a balance of sorts, at least for me.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I haven't really though about it either until I started talking to my students about balance. I'm with you on the talking on the phone issue. I don't like it. I think that tuning in to our digital devices is great as long as we remember to unplug from time to time and use it safely and respectfully.
DeleteAlthough I am up on using electronics, the Pres isn't...not at all. I do feel bad for him yet he shows no signs of changing and yes, it is sad...:)JP
ReplyDeleteMy mother refuses to use digital devices with the sole exception of a cell phone. And she only uses that for phone calls. Not everyone is on board which I think is fine, unless it's a younger person. They're in trouble if they aren't on board. That being said, they're in bigger trouble if it all fails and they can't function without it. LOL
DeleteTechnology is great when it isn't giving us a headache, and so often it does but really how would we get by without it. My mum really likes technology partly because she grew up without it, she didn't have a phone, a computer, or hot and cold running water
ReplyDeleteI always tell my students that technology is great. Except when it isn't. LOL
DeleteI have always looked at technology as a blessing and a curse. We are so spoiled to have everything at the palm of our hands now, but we are really missing out on human interaction.
ReplyDeleteI thought so too but, at the same time, we are interacting with other humans. Just in a different way. When we want face-to-face, we simply disconnect. I think it's when we fail to disconnect that we have a problem.
DeleteWhat a thought provoking post, Pam. Almost everything I read is on my Kindle, and I think I blog far too often. I definitely need to unplug more often. Thank goodness I never got into Facebook, but I'm thinking about Instagram. And I have met a lot of nice people in the blogging world.
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