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Why are we so dependent on modern technologies and everything connected with them?
Did you know that some video games give an impulse to release dopamine in the brain? Recall that dopamine is also released during sex and food, things that are considered necessary for human survival as a species. It turns out a vicious circle — games give an impulse to release dopamine, and dopamine — is something like a pleasure hormone (its narcotic analogues — amphetamine, methamphetamine, ephedrine), respectively, later I want to get high from the game again and we sit down to play again.
But dopamine is released not only when we play video games. Checking e-mail has exactly the same effect. Count how many times a day you check your mailbox, even if there is nothing particularly important there? This is especially true of the sound signals that accompany the receipt of a new letter. You don't know if this message is important, but you're still itching to see what came there, even if it's another spam. It turns out that there is a direct dependence on signals and Pavlov's experiments with dogs come to mind.
While there were only desktop computers, the problem wasn't that big. But as soon as laptops, netbooks, smartphones and various gadgets like iPads appeared, everything became much worse, because now you check your mail (twitter, facebook*, vkontakte — underline) not only at home, but also in transport, in cafes, on a picnic, wherever there is internet access. And now you can also add mobile Internet and WiFi here.
Now we process three times more information than it was 50 years ago. And it's getting bigger and bigger. If earlier it was necessary to put a lot of effort and time to print a book, now it's enough to sit down at a computer and put it online. Only now not only writers, journalists and various public figures write, but everyone who knows how to write and read. Accordingly, it is now necessary to filter even more carefully and much larger arrays of information. And despite all this, we cannot spend three days in peace without reading the news (especially related to the world of technology), because we are afraid that we will miss something and will not catch up. As the Black Queen used to say from Alice through the Looking Glass» — « In our world, my dear, to stay in place, you need to run, and to move, you need to run even faster.
In the last few years, pocket devices have been updated at a tremendous rate. Would it be right to scribble empty even a short post on twitter while driving? I think not. But some people do it anyway. Similarly, it will not be very polite sitting in the company of friends to bury your face in your smartphone and read the news feed there or check your mail. Remember that you are not required to respond to all messages immediately. Yes, there are cases when it is urgent, but still hands reach out to check and answer. It's great when it's good news — share the positivity with your friends, if all this is not very pleasant, then not only do you not rest from work, but also spoil the mood of the people around you.
So what should we do to stop constantly staring at screens and not spending weekends and evenings at the console, and finally begin to see and hear the world and people around us?
The usual scenario: you pull your phone out of your pocket to check the time, at the same time you start checking your e-mail, this entails answering letters, etc. As a result, a simple and short operation «check time » turns into a whole set of operations that takes 5 times more time. If you pulled out your phone to see the time, try to do just that and no more. If it is very difficult to refrain from checking your mail, wear a watch on your hand.
This does not mean that you need to do everything separately now. Listening to your favorite tracks while running can also be attributed to multitasking, but it is welcome. But trying to watch a TV program or a movie at the same time and doing work at this time is not very welcome. You will not be able to concentrate properly on work and miss the most interesting part of the program. In the end, the constant combination of cases will lead to the fact that you simply will not be able to concentrate normally on just one case. As a result, the work will not be done as efficiently for a longer time. This can also include working on a computer on a project and simultaneously checking messages in messengers, twitter and social networks. For an experiment, try to turn off all unnecessary and focus only on work. I think it will take you two times less time than with instant messengers and open social networks enabled.
How often do you apologize for not being able to pick up the phone because you were on the subway/walking with a child/doing gym? First of all, you are not obliged to apologize for being unavailable outside of business hours. Secondly, it shows your addiction to respond to messages immediately. Stop apologizing. You are a human being and just might not be able to do everything right now. Allow yourself the luxury of responding to a message when you have the opportunity and the mood to do so. Of course, this does not mean that you can safely ignore emails from customers during business hours. Otherwise, people may have a not very correct feeling that you can answer calls and emails at any day and time of the day.
We usually talk more about organizing our time than we actually do. Start with the mail! Many email clients offer you very convenient tools for this (folders, shortcuts, etc.). «Priority Inbox» from Google will be very useful for dividing your messages into just «important » and «very important ». At the moment, there is only a beta version that is not available for everyone.
In any case, the habit of always and everywhere being inseparable from your devices and staying out of touch for a long time does not go painlessly. Get ready, in any case you will have withdrawal and a slight panic that you missed something. But it's worth it. You will feel much freer, and the state of «always in touch » gives only visible freedom , in fact tying us tightly to technology and places of « residence » Internet.
I propose to conduct an experiment and share the results! To begin with, minimize the number of mail checks or disable all messengers when doing work (if these messengers are not needed for it, of course) — how long do you usually perform and has the time after disconnection decreased?
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