We are more wired yet more disconnected than we have ever been. Technology, smartphones and computers, continues to decrease in-person play.
We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.
– George Bernard Shaw, 1925 Nobel Prize Winner in Literature
Hyper-aware of current events in separate states, across applications, and throughout various platforms, millions of people (especially children) are pulled in different directions, leading to a society full hyper-tension. More often than not, we are chronically using our sympathetic nervous system (fight, flight, freeze response) — staring at cell phones, watching national news (85%+ is negative information to capture attention), and seeking instant gratifications — in turn, negativity spirals into bouts of shame, judgment, and isolation. Advancements in technology replaced an individual’s freedom to relax, play, enjoy the present moment, and ponder his or her future. The result: distraction, distress, disappointment.
51 years ago, prior to the invention of smartphones phones, how did human beings utilize their time? What endeavors were passionately pursued outside of work? Did they spend hours, during the day, alone or laughing in-person with friends? The average American spends over 5.1 hours per day on his or her phone. That’s over 1/5 of the day! The overuse of social media might be the quietest epidemic of the 21st century.
Social psychologist's, Jonathan Haidt, best-selling book argues: “A phone-based childhood is linked to increasing anxiety and mental health challenges in young people, particularly due to the lack of real-world experiences… The phone-based life produces spiritual degradation, not just in adolescents, but in all of us.”
The book screams in terror at the reader because the negative effects of how screens drastically decreased important face-to-face interactions and real-world connections are being swept under the rug. Access to information seems to matter more than the staggering, skyrocketing statistics of anxiety and depression, especially in the last 10-15 years.
The less on our plate, the better our state. Confidence comes from clarity; Anxiety derives from complexity. We ought to take time away from technology, to decide (meaning “to cut away”) what’s most important to us, and to remember the bliss of being calm.
At the deepest level of performance, action and faith cure fear. Faith and spirituality have taken a backseat for far too many years because God, family, friends, and nature have been displaced by the App Store, Messages, selfies and doom-scrolling. We are not the center of the universe. The peace we seek will not be found on a smartphone all alone but rather surrounded by beating hearts in parks, restaurants, coffee shops, offices, classes, gyms, and nature.
According to the world-renowned physician and lead authority on trauma, Gabor Maté, children have an underlying biological need for free, creative, and spontaneous play in nature. When that need is depressed, repressed, or suppressed, humans are no longer being… they’re imprisoned, tethered to technology, chained to the impulses of culture.
Healthy adults are byproducts of kids who play and recover, and then head back outside to play again. Giggling and laughing. Cooperating and competing. Earning and entertaining. Free.
We must go back to appropriate physical touch from touch screens. We must explore ourselves and Mother Nature, not exploit and compare while boxed up inside. We must unplug, zoom out, and see each other once again.
The word recover means to find or regain possession of… in order to return to a normal state of health.
True wealth is health.
Let’s recover who we once were… and play.