Last week, many of you shared your goals for the upcoming year with us, and there’s still time to send them in—I read each one personally. A lot of you want to build deeper connections with your friends, family, and the world around you, and I totally get it.
In today’s digital world, we’re overwhelmed with messages, tweets, status updates, Pins, snaps, and much more. It’s no wonder we feel swamped trying to keep up. All this information can make us numb to the relationships we truly care about.
We’re so hooked on notifications, retweets, comments, and likes that we end up running on a sort of digital autopilot, feeling disconnected despite being constantly connected.
We have so many distractions pulling at our attention that we forget there are real people behind those screens. It’s ironic how we feel more disconnected now, despite having more tools than ever to stay in touch.
In a book called “How to Win Friends & Influence People in the Digital Age,” a sociologist named Lynn Smith-Lovin points out that while people might have hundreds of Facebook friends and email many people daily, they’re not really talking about anything personal or important.
I’ve been guilty of this digital addiction, but I’m trying hard to unplug and focus on real interactions that don’t rely on emojis or smiley faces. At the start of this year, I deleted all my social media apps from my phone and even added email to that list recently. Yes, even email. Rid of these temptations, I found more freedom.
The first week without email, I was anxious about missing out on important messages, even though I’d never received such an email in seven years. Now, I catch up on emails and social updates while I’m at my desktop for about nine hours a day. But those other hours, when I’m home with my wife, are my time. Time to relax, watch our favorite shows, read, or even just be bored.
Being bored, instead of scrolling aimlessly through other people’s lives, has been refreshing. It’s amazing how much time we waste on our phones instead of talking to those right next to us. I’m happier being bored and finding something meaningful to do with my time.
Ultimately, it’s about reclaiming my time. I don’t believe social media and email need my attention from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed. That time is for me. And now, it is again.
We’d love to hear your stories! How do you disconnect? What inspires and drives you? Feel free to share a photo of your gym, and we might feature it on Facebook!
