Paused

In our society, many have felt or have been exposed at least one to the 'pause affect' whenever they are engaged in a conversation. The 'pause affect' is when someone, during the conversation, is being ignored or shoved aside by the other individual because they have brought out their phone and began to have another conversation through their technology. This occurrence of being "paused" in the middle of a conversation has affected the way we communicate with others in a group. In fact, a blog written by Kristi Barlette on timesunion.com, stated how people feel when they are exposed to this. In the blog, Barlette described that a person feels unimportant or uninteresting to the others around them when their other peers are on their phones. In which this makes them feel as thought that they will never be significant or important to other people because they are not giving the full attention and respect when they are talking to others around them. On another site, a blog written by David Carr on nytimes.com, it explains that 'pause affect' also occurs in the progress of daily work in our society. Due to technology, it causes our daily progress in our work to decrease and ultimately prevent it from being completed. Another way that the use of technology affects society is that it decreases our intelligence. In the movie, Electronic Media: Altering Our Intelligence, explains how humans are becoming too dependent on technology to think and act for them in everyday life. In which, this will cause our intelligence to lessen, for our minds are becoming dependent on the machines we use to think and calculate for us. Another way that technology affects us is that it takes us, as humans, away from reality and places us in virtual reality. On a website, named Digital Nation, it shows how many people are affected by technology. In which, the affect that technology has on humans is that it takes away life. Meaning, that the technology that is used to today distracts many from the outside world, in which causes them to waste their life away because of their use of technology. These are just several of many problems that are caused by the use or overuse of technology in society. However if we continue to do this, it will cause our ways of communication and work ethic to diminish.

There is only one way that this problem of the ourver and abuse of techonology can be solved in our society. The only way that this problem can be solved is to use a media fast for a period of time to see what life is like without the constant use of technology. I had recently taken part of a media fast and it made me see that without the burden of technology weighing down on my back, I could complete many more things in my time and I had also realized that I had seen less frustration in my colleagues whenever I talked with them. With the absence of technology, I felt free to use my time however and whenever I pleased. Not only did I feel freedom, but I thought incredibly clearer than I had before and looked at the world differently. I had seen what parts of life I had been missing due to my use of technology and I wish I had seen it before as I do now. I encourage all who read this blog to take part in a media fast and see what it is like to live without the constant burden of technology.