The Hidden Costs of Tech Usage in the Midst of a Cognitive Revolution

–

We’re in the midst of a cognitive revolution. We’re being analyzed by Big Data, our communication is becoming linear, and the machines we’ve built with our spectacular Science, Math and Engineering skills are now helping us learn.

But machines have still not replicated our superior cognitive abilities of how we process emotions and show empathy towards others. They don’t yet know how to be resilient in the face of uncertainty – a quality that’s still uniquely human.

Smart phones are sexy and empowering yet predatory on our time and focus. But, there’s a price for electrifying our nights. And we’re all paying for it with our attention and ambition. While we’re busy upgrading our tech, we run a risk of downgrading our brain.

There’s a real cost to task switching. It is the cost we pay when we switch from one job to another or engage in heavy multitasking. It takes 21 minutes for our brain to completely focus on our next task.

How can you avoid such brain burnout? By choosing to pay attention to where your focus, your eyes, and your distractions lie. By designing your work space to be less interruptive.

By understanding that your digital devices are enticing because they give you the illusion of control over your free will, your choices and your voice. Heavy usage is leading us to a life that is not truly lived not lived and full of distraction.

So, lets be intentional about the information we’re consuming. After all, in the near future, we won’t be hired for what we know, we will be hired for how we process all the data that’s at our finger tips.

Let’s unplug every day. Looking for entertainment on the perpetual internet is living a life of existential risk anyway.

–

When we go online, we enter an environment that promotes cursory reading, hurried and distracted thinking, and superficial learning.

~ Nicholas Carr.

– 0 –