© Charles D. Hayes
The pace of change has
always delineated differences among generations. As often as not, each
generation longs for something they grew up without. For this reason, in my
view, the not too distant future promises a rediscovery of the rewards of
solitude as something that will suddenly seem astoundingly meaningful because
it affords so much time for thought. With
thought comes perspective, and with that comes wisdom worth passing on.
Most of us know people
whose interest in life seems to grow richer and stronger with age, coming ever
closer to achieving a level of awareness that we commonly think of as wisdom.
We also know people whose lives seem to shrink with time, gradually becoming
less and less of who and what they once were.
Life stage researcher
Erik Erickson characterized the years north of middle age as a tipping point,
with one direction moving toward perspective and the other toward despair. Twenty-first
century technology is ratcheting up the process for many people, pushing us
further and faster in whichever direction we are leaning.
My observations suggest
that openness to new experience is a key characteristic for those who strive
for perspective as they grow older. Watching friends and family members
withdraw into a shell of growing angst and despair is one of life’s great
disappointments. When this is someone’s chosen path, efforts to get the person
to change course are rarely successful.
We know the effects of
change in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries were astonishing. Generations who
grew up traveling by horse and buggy died witnessing rocket ships and
satellites in space. Now, in this century, we are experiencing even faster change
with communication technologies effectively having nullified geographic
distances, resulting in a retribalized world based more on ideology and political
class than ethnicity.
The solitude of daily
life experienced by earlier generations has been replaced by unrelenting communication
and media distractions. Thoughtful correspondence is increasingly overwritten
by tweets. Time spent looking at snippets of text on small screens is
overtaking time spent reading serious books. In-depth reading is giving way to Cliff
Notes and one-page summaries.
Nevertheless, if we don’t
keep current with technology, the world seems to pass us by. We have less and
less in common with younger generations. Our music, tastes in fashion, and preferences
in entertainment are deemed obsolete and out of touch, and as aging friends and
family pass away, we become ever more isolated.
Each of us can probably relate
to having family members who never signed on with computers. Now they are likely
alienated from social media. I’ve used computers since they came on the market,
but only just recently did I change from using a flip phone to a smartphone. For
a short time, it was a traumatic experience as I felt a complete loss of
control over my ability to use a telephone. (I’m over it now.)
We can easily lose sight
of the fact that Marshall McLuhan was right when he said, “The medium is the
message.” In other words, our tools shape our behavior. Facebook, for example,
has created an environment where we are subtly and not so subtly encouraged to like things. The downside is that doing
so makes us much more aware of what we dislike,
so much so that Facebook is adding a Dislike feature. This existential experience
tends to motivate people to seek out echo chambers where political viewpoints
narrow and contempt escalates and smolders.
Needless to say, for a
species as tribalistic as we human beings are, manipulative media is something
to be constantly aware of, simply to keep ourselves from being unduly
influenced. Social philosopher Eric Hoffer was correct in declaring that hatred
is one of our greatest unifying forces. And thus, the strength of
communications technology is also its weakness: it brings people together while
it alienates and ostracizes others.
Some people take pride in
not watching or even owning a television, not having a cellphone, or not using
computers. On the other hand, some people express pride in not reading books.
But purposeful isolation and alienation of any kind shortchanges perspective. Without
common frames of reference, relating to others becomes more difficult.
Now that I’m accustomed
to my new phone, I view it as something short of magic. It’s the equivalent of
having a personal assistant 24/7. Social media and smartphone apps for seniors
are tremendous aids for keeping in touch with family and assisting with medical
issues. Even so, today’s political environment suggests the world needs much
less chit-chat and much more thoughtfulness and deep reading.
Ralph Waldo Emerson put
our current dilemma in perspective more than a century ago, pointing out that
“every advantage has its tax.” So, if you are feeling alienated by your lack of
technical savvy, Emerson is still good company. His work is all about gaining
and maintaining perspective. Read his essay “Compensation,” and you will be
rewarded with a riveting example of thoughtfulness.
In Emerson’s time,
solitude was a big part of life. If you read the letters and prose of ordinary
citizens during that period and compare them with today’s social media, you may
perceive that we need to rethink and relearn the importance of solitude.
The tax for using the
media available to us is paid in lost opportunity for thoughtful reflection. Wisdom these days will likely be found
by discerning and maintaining the right balance between technological wizardry
and enough silent contemplation to keep from being manipulated politically and to
maintain a level of perspective that makes life worth living.
My Books and Essays on Amazon
New Fiction: A Mile North of Good and Evil
My Other Blog
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