I am VERY excited about the new technology that is set to come onto the market in 2010.
Apple’s rumored iTablet, the Sports Illustrated tablet and the potentially resurrected CrunchPad are among the fabulous new devices that are set to revolutionize everything from books, newspapers and magazines to how we access the internet and even how we use the telephone networks.
I’m a geek at heart, I just love to get my hands on new devices and lose myself in playing with them for hours and hours on end.
This bi-weekly spot on my blog is dedicated to helping people use technology, whether it’s new devices or online technologies in the best possible way to assist them in reaching their goals.
Today though, I want to talk about the balance that is needed with any technology you may use.
Sometimes You Need To Step Away
Smartphones, laptops, eReaders, tablets, netbooks, twitter, facebook, friendfeed, blogs – the list of devices and technologies that demand our time and can suck us into a spiraling vortex of constant updates and status checks is endless.
You and I can probably justify the need for any and all of these amazing devices and websites but they have to be used in balance with real world interaction. You must never completely replace spending time with people ‘offline’.
I encourage you to find and maintain a balance between using these tools and being fully present in the real world.
While I promote the use of technology and exhort people to manipulate it to their advantage as much as possible, I also believe in the value of (and need for) face-to-face human interaction.
We NEED Physical Relationships
Physical relationships with your family, friends and co-workers are an essential part of the human experience – and I believe that we are hard-wired with a need for them.
So today, instead of giving you some advice on how to better use technology, my advice is simple:
Make sure you take time every day to step away from your electronic devices and enjoy the richness of the friendship and companionship of those around you. Stop using ‘social media’ and instead, simply be sociable.
Question: Do you find it easy to balance your online time with offline time?
I had just commented on Michael Hyatt's blog about fasting from social media. I gave up on facebook for these very reasons you mention. My offline (real) relationships were faltering at the expense of my online relationships. To keep a balance I had to remove myself from facebook.
I noticed that if I spent a few hours on the computer, afterwards I didn't get any tangible richness from the experience. I noticed that when I spent time with my wife, my kids, or over coffee with a friend that afterwards there was a richness that I felt from the experience. Social media is important, we know that. But not when it continually trumps physical relationships.
It's weird to me that Michael Hyatt and I posted about the same subject on the same day.
You're right about the richness of the experience. There's something that comes from real world interaction that we just cannot get online!
No, I don't find it easy to balance. At one time, I gave up the computer on Wednesdays and Sundays to balance things out, but I found that on Monday and Thursday, I was glued to the computer worse than before. So now I am off the computer most of Sunday. Around 11:00 I check my favorite blogs so that the next day is a new day, you know?
Balance is the hardest thing – and I struggle with it too.
I think partly it comes down to wanting to be too engaged with too many people online. We make friends then feel we 'have' to read their blogs, comment, RT and then chat with them every day – and as our circle of friends gets bigger and bigger, that becomes more and more difficult!
I really struggle with it. That's the exact reason I have been so quiet online lately. I have taken a step back for a while. You worded this post so well…It is an endless vortex…I love what Taterhouse had to say about this as well. Good post. A very timely read for me!
I hope you find balance soon!
Social Media is not bad, we just have to use it right!