Do you ever wake up to notice that you're doing things that you were not supposed to do? How many tabs you usually use when at your laptop? Do you think multitaskers are todays heros? Neither do I but everyday I find myself in the middle of these sinful situations. The entertainment side of web and social medias are my favorite substitutes when preparing to an exam or not getting creative grasp on work etc.
Past Friday's workshop of culture made me to analyze the culture of media consumption. During the past year I have come across studies that forewarn the dangers of media multitasking. They say that media multitaskers pay a mental price: bad memory, stress, unability to concentrate. Do I need to continue? The press is also starting to publish these little news of new research. For example, Naomi Baron in her book Always on states that online and mobile technologies (instant messaging, cell phones, multitasking, social networking site as Facebook and blogs) profoundly influence the way we read, write, listen and speak.
New technology makes possible to fulfill even the short moments with music, images, news, messages and entertainment in general. Baron argues that our ability concentrate is on stake as we loose the capability to bury ourselves into something. We procastinate.
Many everyday routines require multi-tasking, take driving a car for example. While listening to radio we coordinate our limbs, observe traffic and other drivers. I guess multi-tasking depends on the level of routine we have gained, to become the ultimate driver you need a license and heaps of experience. Online media is not as approachable and manageable to all. Especially for the latter it is why online literacy and media education should be provided already in primary school.
Baron states that new technologies haven't influenced the language as much as our relationships. Baron poses a question: what kind of people do we become as individuals and as family members or friends, if the relationships we form must increasingly compete for our attention with digital media? Are we really present for our friends when hanging around in Facebook while doing our work? Is it the medium that allures me or the need to chat with a friend?
It's obvious that the pace of technological change compared to cultural evolution is power to ten. But blaming online media is No Go as these new technologies only boost the features inside us.
Balancing between mediation and meditation is a tough job even for new savvy leaders.
