Digital Detox!

They are not texting each other!

Does technology have a strangle hold on our society?  Are our students suffering from technologyitis?  Do we need to take a step back and go through a Digital Detox?  All questions the Rez Life Staff have been asking over the last several months.   Chris Smith, Chief Student Affairs Officer, and the Rez Life Staff are promoting a Digital Detox Challenge.   In trying to explain what all this meant Pastor Smith sent out and e-mail addressing the challenge.

“Beginning on Wednesday, February 12, at 11:00pm, the RA staff will be hosting a Starting @ 9 in which they will challenge our students to sign-up for a 2 week Digital Detox.  They can’t text, tweet, post, share, use their computers for anything other than homework and not use the internet for anything other than research for class.  Obviously not everyone will sign up to participate, but as an added incentive we will be offering elective Chapel credits to students who sign-up to participate and will submit reflection or journal entries when we conclude the Digital Detox at the Starting @ 9 on Wednesday, February 26. “

I remember a time when technology seemed like a small thing.  It held no hold over my life and did not guide my minute to minute interactions or ability to be a functioning member of society.  The world has changed over the last two decades and technology or the need to be plugged in has overtaken our lives.  Is this change for the better or worse?  Some students say they need the social media networks to effectively communicate with coworkers and volunteers to organize and produce the many things they are involved with on campus.  To them walking away from social media would not just affect them personally but professionally and drop their output levels.  Some others admit that they are slowed down by the constant desire to check Facebook or Twitter to see what is going on with their friends.

Technology obviously has it positives and negatives.  It is distracting at times and can slow progress, and yet at other times it is the oil that greases the cogs of communication.  The question becomes is the convenience of instant faceless, voiceless communication stunting our ability to communicate face to face and impairing our perception of what is appropriate and inappropriate communication behavior.

The Rez Life Staff have noticed an increased amount of comments that students have made via social media that they would never have said to someone face to face.  They have also taken note of students sitting in the same room texting each other as opposed to talking out loud, or even attending sporting events and instead of cheering, they are sitting in the stands on their phones.  Now, in their defense they could be tweeting scores, but in all likely hood that is probably a small fraction of the time they are spending on their phones.

Has technology dumbed us down in the area of verbal communication?  I believe that the obvious answer here is, YES.  The real question is will a Digital Detox help?