I am connected with the IT since I was teenager as I went to the Technical High School which has to educate me as an IT technician. Then - engineer degree, master - also in the IT. Now, after almost 30 years in the IT industry I do feel connected with the digital world. It shapes me, there is nothing I did in my whole life outside some kind if the electronics/telecom/IT, but when I started to become middle-aged man I realized completely opposite side of me: I discovered art, music, painting and philosophy. I became more fascinated in humanistic part of the knowledge than any else, especially the IT. And indeed - screens around me are awful. I hate them so much - and I can't escape. Screens are everywhere nowadays. E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E.
Last Saturday I went for some small shopping to our local IKEA and I found out the trolleys with build in screen - with an ad on it.
And the most horrible thing is that I personally add some bricks to this world, working as an IT/Electronics or Telkom engineer in big companies for my entire life.
I've noticed a lot of the same feelings from not only myself but also those who are very much "into'' the digital state. I've started making word art and diagrams around what I read to try and ground the digital content I consume in the physical, much like your journey....however I NEVER gave up reading physical books :)
I think keeping the balance between digital and analog is terribly important. Like "You cannot stand on one leg". I would feel deprived if I had no "digital" activities, and the same the other way round.
How I stay analog is by being conscious about it. About the seductions of digital algorithms, and the effects my activities have on me as an embodied entity. I try to consciously have "digital purpose" and "analog purpose", and when I observe one of them slipping (usually the analog side), I work to do more on that front. I always have enough ideas, thankfully. And if I listen to my body, it is actually missing the movement.
But I have a base there. Rooted in a lot of tinkering in childhood. Studying chemistry and not physics because I wanted a share of hands-on activities, like a lab, as opposed to "only" a lot of math and computers (and that was in the 80s). In that sense, I consider myself lucky, because I only have to keep that alive. Sports, Nature, crafts, Meditation. Social activity, to some extent, although that for me is often draining in other ways.
Had I ever lost than analog connection, or if I were younger and with some probability would not have it in the first place, I would not now how to get it, or get it back. I do feel the pull of the algorithms, even through I never truly connected with social media (which helps A LOT). But as long as I remain conscious of that, I can steer. But again, maybe something not possible for people much younger. Newsscrolling is bad enough, but probably no comparison to Instagram/TikTok.
What I observed in phases of my life: With enough stress, the consciousness goes away. The only thing that allowed me to stay balanced, or regain it when I sensed I was losing it, was stepping off the treadmill, or at least going into lower gear there. Keeping some space for conscious choice - which has at times been career-limiting. In a healthy way, as it turned out.
I am connected with the IT since I was teenager as I went to the Technical High School which has to educate me as an IT technician. Then - engineer degree, master - also in the IT. Now, after almost 30 years in the IT industry I do feel connected with the digital world. It shapes me, there is nothing I did in my whole life outside some kind if the electronics/telecom/IT, but when I started to become middle-aged man I realized completely opposite side of me: I discovered art, music, painting and philosophy. I became more fascinated in humanistic part of the knowledge than any else, especially the IT. And indeed - screens around me are awful. I hate them so much - and I can't escape. Screens are everywhere nowadays. E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E.
Last Saturday I went for some small shopping to our local IKEA and I found out the trolleys with build in screen - with an ad on it.
And the most horrible thing is that I personally add some bricks to this world, working as an IT/Electronics or Telkom engineer in big companies for my entire life.
I understand your pain. I feel it too. But it's never too late to switch back to analog.
I've noticed a lot of the same feelings from not only myself but also those who are very much "into'' the digital state. I've started making word art and diagrams around what I read to try and ground the digital content I consume in the physical, much like your journey....however I NEVER gave up reading physical books :)
I think keeping the balance between digital and analog is terribly important. Like "You cannot stand on one leg". I would feel deprived if I had no "digital" activities, and the same the other way round.
How I stay analog is by being conscious about it. About the seductions of digital algorithms, and the effects my activities have on me as an embodied entity. I try to consciously have "digital purpose" and "analog purpose", and when I observe one of them slipping (usually the analog side), I work to do more on that front. I always have enough ideas, thankfully. And if I listen to my body, it is actually missing the movement.
But I have a base there. Rooted in a lot of tinkering in childhood. Studying chemistry and not physics because I wanted a share of hands-on activities, like a lab, as opposed to "only" a lot of math and computers (and that was in the 80s). In that sense, I consider myself lucky, because I only have to keep that alive. Sports, Nature, crafts, Meditation. Social activity, to some extent, although that for me is often draining in other ways.
Had I ever lost than analog connection, or if I were younger and with some probability would not have it in the first place, I would not now how to get it, or get it back. I do feel the pull of the algorithms, even through I never truly connected with social media (which helps A LOT). But as long as I remain conscious of that, I can steer. But again, maybe something not possible for people much younger. Newsscrolling is bad enough, but probably no comparison to Instagram/TikTok.
What I observed in phases of my life: With enough stress, the consciousness goes away. The only thing that allowed me to stay balanced, or regain it when I sensed I was losing it, was stepping off the treadmill, or at least going into lower gear there. Keeping some space for conscious choice - which has at times been career-limiting. In a healthy way, as it turned out.
Love it. Thanks for sharing.