Is technology devouring our identity?

by Sean Doughtie posted in: Commentary• on November 29, 2010

A while back, one of my business mentors offered a gentle but welcomed admonition not to forget the 80-20 rule—80% of your productivity comes from 20% of your work effort. The context for this was that, as a creative, it’s especially important to recharge my batteries if I want to remain sharp and effective. But he also was reminding me that life is more than just work. He’s right, it is. As important as Taproot Creative is to me and as seriously as I take my work and my reputation, this job isn’t who I am—it’s just what I do.

In this current technological, new media age it’s getting more and more difficult to draw lines between our professional and personal lives. That may seem trivial, or even welcomed, but it isn’t healthy. Email, smart phones, text messaging, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare—the list goes on. All of these tools, while effective and useful in their proper context, are slowly devouring our collective souls. Don’t scoff. Think about it. What happens when you hear the tell-tale “ping” of an incoming email on a blackberry or iPhone. Like Pavlov’s dog we begin to twitch and sweat if we cannot check our messages—even if it isn’t our phone that sounded. Many of you, right now, are checking your phone just because I mentioned it. Now I ask, is this normal, healthy behavior?

When exactly did we as a community begin to feel it was appropriate and necessary to announce to the world our every activity and where we are at a given moment? When you really think about it, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, yet we robotically obey because we can, and because everyone else is doing it.

I’m embarrassed to admit that, as soon as my alarm sounds in the morning, the first thing I do is grab my iPhone and scan the emails that came through during the night. Why? Is there anything so pressing the someone would have emailed it to me at 3AM? Rarely. More times than not, all I have are a couple dozen spam emails from various sources, yet I painfully try to force my bleary eyes to focus on the headlines… “Improve your manhood today.” “A new business opportunity from Nigeria.” “Vote John Doe for Crooked Politician.” Yes, those were very pressing. I’m glad I checked.

In my professional life, I see the value in technology and social media tools. I consult daily with clients across the country to help them learn how to wield these tools to grow their business and better communicate with their audience. In their proper place I welcome the new opportunities that these technologies provide us as a culture. The purpose of this rather long-winded blog is to encourage us not to lose our identity amongst all the noise and to remember what matters and what doesn’t. As my son climbs onto my lap and says, “Daddy, play,” I’m reminded of that and thankfully I still have the wherewithal to come back and re-engage with life.

Don’t lose site of that. There are things that technology can never replace, or even approach—the feel of a book in my hands, sound of listening to (or playing) live music, the feel of grass under bare feet. There’s a spiritual connection there that we cannot afford to lose. Be sure to schedule time to unplug. Go for a walk (without your iPod). Write a song. Learn to play an instrument. Read that book you’ve been putting off. Go live. The work will still be there tomorrow, right where you left it.

Sean Doughtie is president and CEO of Taproot Creative. Read his bio here.

Tags: effectiveness, identity, life