Disconnecting from a Plugged in World
In a world constantly growing in technology, it has become easier to get sucked into the digital world. While there are advantages to the technological advances, there are also more dangerous situations that grow. It has become more common to live your life in the digital world and forget to live in the world around you. We can now find friends, relationships, homes, cars, shop, buy groceries, and so much more all from the comfort of our home. While the convenience factor is nice, it is disconnecting us as a community. We no longer have to learn how to interact in person if we don’t want to.
So how do we find a balance? It’s not to say that using technology is bad. In fact, it has made staying in touch with people so much easier as I constantly move and am never close to family. It allows me to share pictures with loved ones or FaceTime wherever I want. I can write thoughts and experiences to share with others. If used wisely, technology has the ability to strengthen community.
It ‘s when we lose sight of reality or stop taking part in the outside world that it becomes dangerous. It is so easy to get sucked into a virtual world. Whether it is video games and chat rooms where your only friends are virtual and you could be unaware of the actual person on the other side, or social media where you only see what others want you to see. It molds the way you start to think and the way you see yourself.
I’ve noticed a big thing with social media such as Facebook is that people tend to post the “perfect picture” or the happy events from their day. While this is uplifting to see, it also creates a false reality. It is easy to start comparing our life to others based in what we see. We think others must have it more together because their house always seems clean, their kids always have a smile, and they always seem happy. However, usually if you looked behind the camera you would see a pile of dirty laundry, a child throwing a tantrum, or the tears they cried earlier that day.
So what’s the line between good use of technology and unhealthy? Where do we draw the line? Although it is a great thing to take advantage of the resources we have, it can also become dangerous, addicting or effect the way we think about ourselves. We need to find a balance of the time we spend plugged in and time spent unplugged. Use the resources we’ve been blessed with but remind yourself that not everything is reality and know when it’s becoming harmful to the way you live or think about yourself.