I facilitated a day long leader development session on Tuesday with about 20 people. We took a few breaks through the day – 2 minutes – 5 minutes – 10 minutes – whatever seemed appropriate at the time.
EVERY time I called a break, a good 80% of the attendees whipped out their phones to check God knows what! And having checked, most determined that their entire break should be devoted to tending the text and avoiding interaction with their peers in the room. No, they were not all introverts!
I felt very sad about the absence of what used to be an important part of educational sessions – a chance to network with others, find out what is on their minds, develop original thoughts. It makes me worry for our future in organizations. If we only know each other by the tops of our heads – and not through our eyes, or what’s on our minds – what investment will we really have in each other’s success or well-being?
And then, if I post this on my blog or Facebook or Linked In, will I find that others share the same concern, or, will I just be fueling our electronic addictions?
Posted under Life Balance, Life in General, Overload & Overwhelm
This post was written by Pat Katz on January 13, 2010
I share your concern. Whether at work, shopping or at dinner, it seems that people can no longer exist without some form of electronic something in their hands. Good old fashioned eye contact and friendly hellos are disappearing and that is quite disheartening!
It seems to me that we are either part of the problem or part of the solution. And, if we deem it a problem, then it behooves us to be VERY selective about when and where we employ our own electronic (de)vices. We can then, with a clear conscience, lovingly let those with us know, when the situation dictates, “I sure would love to have you all to myself!”
It reminds me of the situation (which has been around for a number of years) where you go to visit someone and they have the TV on in the room while you are visiting. It may not be a problen for some people but I find it very hard to ignore a TV
All I can say is: Amen to that.
We own technology – it should not own us.
Networking is such a great part of any get together whether educational or other. We need to be cautious of how using our technology keeps people away and firmly shuts them out. Make a choice to leave time for those human connections. The good news is that the emails will still be there when you get to them.