Technology and tranquility: where’s our balance?

I’ve always had an easy time laughing off the half-serious complaints of older relatives that the amount of time I spend online, on my Blackberry, and on other 21st-century gadgets is a problem. It is, after all, a firmly ingrained feature of our generation—1990s babies who grew up on the Internet—and a lot of the activities that older generations cannot even begin to comprehend doing online, including many forms of socializing, reading, and personal entertainment, have made the transition to the screen.

But while fishing in Muskoka one evening this summer, I missed setting the hook on a big fish because I was too busy replying to an instant message on MSN. If someone had described such a scene to me as recently as two or three years ago, I would have been shocked and appalled by technology’s brazen invasion into what was once a sacred escape of mine, a chance to leave behind the constant communication and connectivity of city life.

I suspect I’m not the only person who has struggled with this aspect of modernity. To place myself in elite company, President Obama famously received an annoyed slap on the wrist from his wife, Michelle, for pulling out his Blackberry at one of their daughter’s soccer games while he was campaigning last summer. It’s surely a scene that is repeated every weekend, evening, and at countless family get-togethers around the world.

What, then, is the answer? Many people self-identify as Internet addicts, a concept that has been legitimized in some scientific circles. Far more are de facto addicts in denial. Jim Taylor, a PhD in psychology, recognizes “dis-connectivity anxiety” as an emerging trend that affects many people. David Gibson, a Harvard professor, identifies several factors that could help explain Internet addiction. He hypothesizes that after externalizing our thoughts online repeatedly, we have difficulty getting excited over the idea of keeping our thoughts to ourselves. Gibson also suggests that online personas become so meaningful to us that we feel compelled to continue developing and presenting them to the online world.

Others simply find the convenience of universal connectivity too much to resist, even if they don’t always appreciate the trade-offs that come with it, like missing that big fish, or focusing more on a pesky ex-girlfriend’s text message rather than the roaring bonfire in front of them.

It helps to take a clear and honest look at the pros and cons that universal Internet access brings to the table before rushing to judgment.

Constant access to the Internet and its entire means of communication is a convenience that is nearly impossible to understate. A lot of the time our professional lives neccessitate immediacy, which the net provides. What would be more deflating than returning from a nice holiday and checking the Career Centre’s job listings, only to learn that a dream part-time job had been posted the afternoon that you left and other applicants now have a head start on you?

The drawbacks of the Internet aren’t always as easy to qualify, and they’re often not as pronounced as the benefits, but they certainly exist. Think of the young-adult drama that is always a text message or MSN conversation window away.

So where do we find middle ground? It would be a shame of equal portions to completely refuse the convenience of technological progress, or to become so dependent on it that the downsides of these advances cut into what should be times of unfettered bliss.

A helpful starting point is to consider your Internet and communications needs: are you the kind of person who keeps your net and mobile device use to a bare minimum? If so, you’re a minority amongst the undergraduate demographic. But the answer here is easy: leave the “Crackberry” and laptop at home.

It can help to keep our Internet use to the things that would truly disadvantage us if neglected for a few days (like email and the occasional Facebook check). The smart phone does not need to come on every boat trip, nor does it need to even need be on all the time.

For better or for worse, every aspect of our lives is technologized. Recognizing that both the upsides and drawbacks of this unchangeable fact are entirely real is a good first step to making intelligent choices on how to best maximize their convenience without having to join Crackberries Anonymous.