Are You Digitally Fatigued?
You may be digitally fatigued and not even know it. As smart phones and electronic tablets become more prolific and sophisticated, we seem to naturally gravitate toward these new digital opportunities.
But…is this a good thing? Do we now spend so much time in the digital world that we can no longer think creatively—or socialize face to face?
Here’s some interesting information I ran across the other day: And what has all this activity really accomplished—other than lining the pockets of Venture Capital firms and a few overpaid corporate executives? Let’s think about this for a minute… What do the following things all have in common: ANSWER: All of these great achievements were created and constructed before the advent of the digital age—no computers, no cell phones, no satellites, no social media, no video games, no… MOREOVER: How many great inventions and accomplishments have been made since the dawn of the digital age—or perhaps more importantly over the last 4 or 5 years? Certainly, all the above things (and many more) have been improved upon and enhanced since their creation, but what truly new creativity from the minds of mankind has produced something of the magnitude of the above list? And these are only the bare statistics—what about the workings of the human mind? I wonder what would happen if, for instance, the 1 million hours per day spent playing Angry Birds were spent just “thinking”…thinking about new ideas, new possibilities, new creations, new businesses, new solutions to problems, and on and on? With more creative thinking, could we have invented new products, started more new companies, hired more people, trained more engineers and scientists? I don’t know…maybe…probably. Then of course, there is the issue of interpersonal relationship skills (or lack thereof). Personally, I would rather sit across the table from someone in a restaurant talking about all the great ideas I had during the day, than sitting there alone texting or tweeting about the food I was eating. All my life I have been an early adopter of new technology (my first PC was made by Zenith, and my first cell phone cost $2,500—with no one else to talk to), but now I am beginning to wonder. When I compare the relationship between the minds of mankind vs. the reliance on gadgetry and mind-numbing social media that is consuming our lives…I wonder if, in the big picture, mankind has not taken a giant step backwards. So, do you think you have digital fatigue, or are addicted to your digital devices? How would your life change if suddenly the Internet and all wireless service went down and there was no more social media, no more email, no more text messaging, no more cell phones, no more Kindle, and on and on? Could you survive? Could you be productive? Could you be creative? * Last week I wrote a blog post about an alternative funding source directed at “creative” entrepreneurial projects. The enterprise featured in that article is called Kickstarter, and they claim to be “…the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world.” In terms of number of projects funded, I believe them. However, there are more ways to support budding entrepreneurs in the arts world than just providing money. A reader recently called my attention to another interesting concept for supporting creative entrepreneurial projects. This particular concept is based on a non-profit organization that provides goods and services, at little or no cost, to aspiring music groups in the community. One of the most notable examples of this platform is an organization based in Bellingham, Washington called Make.Shift. This non-profit organization provides space for music groups to practice and perform, and they are now expanding to include entrepreneurial people involved in the visual arts. They just recently obtained a vacant facility in downtown Bellingham, and are in the process of remodeling it to accommodate their members. But, what I found most interesting, is that in addition to providing activity-appropriate spaces for creative entrepreneurs, they also provide a number of special services that include: For a closer look at Make.Shift, take a look at the following video that was made to solicit funds for moving into their new building: (email subscribers can view on my blog.) Incidentally, Make.Shift put up a request on Kickstarter for this project and exceeded their goal by 40%. So, that’s what the innovative folks in Bellingham, Washington are doing to support their young (and not so young) entrepreneurial artists—why not start something similar in your community? *
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