I wish I could afford to take an academic sabbatical like the author David Roberts, but alas, my route to graduation and future education plans are far more important than my own wellbeing.
At least I can dream.
Nowadays, especially in the COVID-19 pandemic, the amount of digital information being thrown at us can be overwhelming. Heck, it seems like I can't go more than 2 minutes without hearing a notification ping from my email, News app, Snapchat, or any other app trying to grab my attention from the real world. As much as I'd like to pull myself away from the tentacles of the virtual world, it's starting to seem as if it's almost more important to be present online rather than physically. "Keeping up" rather than "getting caught up" describes this sentiment perfectly. If I choose to partake in the latter, there's a good chance I'll miss an announcement from professors/the school, a message from a friend, or an important news update. Although I don't think that I'm dependent on my phone, I could possibly be in denial from the probably inevitable fate of my generation--digital addiction and FOMO.
Sure, a couple of years ago it might've felt like I was "shoveling the digital snow," but now it more so feels as though I'm constantly bracing myself against the digital blizzard, a polar vortex so strong that I might as well give up on trying to combat the amount of content I have to encounter on a daily basis.
Unlike Roberts, I've never felt a strong draw toward social media. There've been multiple occasions where I've deleted accounts to disconnect from the digital world. Every time I'm more and more tempted to cut the cord completely, but ultimately choose not to in fear that I'll either miss something important or lose touch with some of my friends. Oh FOMO, why must you be a thing? On the other hand, it appears as if I've unintentionally participated in some forms of mindfulness. I've already made the habit to take breaks from looking at my phone or computer screen, turning off notifications from certainproblematic apps in order to check them less, etc.
I want to take up what the author describes as "the challenge of our age," which is to fuel my best energy into one product, rather than being carelessly omnipresent among multiple.
Discussion Questions:
1) How has growing up in the dawn of the social media/networking age affected our ability to interact with others?
2) If you've ever taken a 1 month or longer break from social media, how did it make you feel? Did you experience any anxiety from it?
3) Meditation is a widely-popular form of mindfulness? Have you ever participated in meditation or other forms of mindfulness?
At least I can dream.
Nowadays, especially in the COVID-19 pandemic, the amount of digital information being thrown at us can be overwhelming. Heck, it seems like I can't go more than 2 minutes without hearing a notification ping from my email, News app, Snapchat, or any other app trying to grab my attention from the real world. As much as I'd like to pull myself away from the tentacles of the virtual world, it's starting to seem as if it's almost more important to be present online rather than physically. "Keeping up" rather than "getting caught up" describes this sentiment perfectly. If I choose to partake in the latter, there's a good chance I'll miss an announcement from professors/the school, a message from a friend, or an important news update. Although I don't think that I'm dependent on my phone, I could possibly be in denial from the probably inevitable fate of my generation--digital addiction and FOMO.
Sure, a couple of years ago it might've felt like I was "shoveling the digital snow," but now it more so feels as though I'm constantly bracing myself against the digital blizzard, a polar vortex so strong that I might as well give up on trying to combat the amount of content I have to encounter on a daily basis.
Unlike Roberts, I've never felt a strong draw toward social media. There've been multiple occasions where I've deleted accounts to disconnect from the digital world. Every time I'm more and more tempted to cut the cord completely, but ultimately choose not to in fear that I'll either miss something important or lose touch with some of my friends. Oh FOMO, why must you be a thing? On the other hand, it appears as if I've unintentionally participated in some forms of mindfulness. I've already made the habit to take breaks from looking at my phone or computer screen, turning off notifications from certain
I want to take up what the author describes as "the challenge of our age," which is to fuel my best energy into one product, rather than being carelessly omnipresent among multiple.
Discussion Questions:
1) How has growing up in the dawn of the social media/networking age affected our ability to interact with others?
2) If you've ever taken a 1 month or longer break from social media, how did it make you feel? Did you experience any anxiety from it?
3) Meditation is a widely-popular form of mindfulness? Have you ever participated in meditation or other forms of mindfulness?
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