We were once ruled by the natural world, yet recent, radical advancements in technology has changed that. We must now all decide if technology will rule us. Benji Wagner helps us take a closer look. Video Courtesy: TedX Talks
Today, our increasing, over-dependence on technology begins at a very young age. Image Courtesy: growingagreenfamily.com
As humans we are inextricably-tied to the outdoors. Of course, this makes absolute sense as we began life outside, in the forests, on the savannahs. We used to entirely subscribe to, and be ruled by, the laws of nature. In fact, at the turn of the century, nature was our livelihood as an agricultural society. However, as humankind entered into the Industrial Revolution and has progressed techonologically in the Information Age, we've begun to drift in our connection with the natural world. Most recently, our increasing dependency on "all things digital" has caused many of us to nearly un-plug from nature altogether.
According to a report from The Daily Mail, the average person checks their phone around 1500 times per week. That's an astounding fgure...and now there's even an app called Checky for measuring your own phone dependency level. And while some tech-based tools do indeed allow us to connect to nature in some ways never before possible, most simply take us farther away. Balance is needed. And this has never been more obvious than now, seeing how (most) kids don't even play outside anymore.
An image grab from Benji Wagner's compelling TedX talk on our transition from cavemen to, eventually, robots...where our connection with the outdoors is (for all intents and purposes) non-existent. Image Courtesy: TedX Talks
‘Because it is limited in characters, texting discourages thoughtful discussion or any level of detail, and its addictive problems are compounded by its hyper-immediacy.’ Image Courtesy: Alamy
Technology, for all that it makes possible, is critical for progress, yet it should serve a more pure role in making life better and not serving as something that debilitates us. Anything that pushes us to move away from where we come from, from what truly makes us tick, isn't enhancing our quality of life. Through such "technical overload" we are seeing a loss of human connection.
In this video, Benji Wagner, the founder of Polerstuf.com (an innovative, outdoor gear/clothing company), gives a TEDx speech on technology and explores these very issues. He centers on how technology should be used as a tool of connection to the natural world, far away cultures and people...and not an end-all replacement. Let us know your thoughts.
This post is featured in The Ammonista Report - Fall 2015: quarterly inspiration to help people and companies create brands of significance. Subscribe Here.