I am so happy to see the elements of "unmachining" laid out like this. I think many (most?) people have achieved some level of "Recognize" but don't know how to proceed to "Remove" and "Return."
One thing worth considering, however, is that I don't think you can fully Recognize the actual extent of how tech changes us until you at least g…
I am so happy to see the elements of "unmachining" laid out like this. I think many (most?) people have achieved some level of "Recognize" but don't know how to proceed to "Remove" and "Return."
One thing worth considering, however, is that I don't think you can fully Recognize the actual extent of how tech changes us until you at least get into the Remove stage, and maybe even more into the Return stage. Hence my essay to which you link (thank you!): I thought I knew well how bad constant internet was for me and my family but I actually had no idea of the extent to which it prevented me from experiencing my authentic self.
So those programs or experiments that get people on board for a specific practice or for unplugging for a length of time are more important than they might be if it were relatively easy to come to these conclusions on your own. They will get people to the space where they *can* Recognize fully.
It's kind of like when someone is in a clinical depression. The depression itself prevents that person from recognizing what they need to do to get help and getting them to act upon it. Depression delights ol' Screwtape because he can use it to tell people they aren't really depressed, everybody else is just the problem.
So with phones: the shallowness, emptiness, and distraction we experience keeps us from realizing that our healthy norm is actually *far different* from this, and we need to take action to get back there. We think instead that we are doing fine because we can manage to put the phone away for dinnertime.
Yes, that is an excellent point Dixie! The Removal and Recognize seem to be reciprocal steps, as one is needed to prompt the other. I very much appreciated your post on "unplugging" and the feeling of "waking up to a self I thought was no longer there". When observing scenes like the one I described by the bus stop, I feel that people are deeply mesmerized, not realizing that their true identity is being eaten up by their digital selves. Will keep your point in mind...
Yes, that was the most surprising part of the experience for me, that waking up. I thought that I was already awake (especially when not on my phone for a few hours). Not so.
I'm glad you liked it! I look forward to continuing on in this discussion.
Depression makes sense as well since blue light shifts prohormones like pregnenolone, which create other hormones like growth hormone, to cortisol (stress) instead:
Fascinating! Yes, I'm convinced that the blue light itself does indeed create problems, as your article seems to show (will have to go back and read the whole thing)!
But I wasn't really trying to say being over-teched causes depression (although indeed, I think it is clear that it does!), but rather than it is like depression. The thing itself -- whether depression or tech addiction/overreliance -- is characterized by a difficulty to see beyond it. So you can't get out.
I am so happy to see the elements of "unmachining" laid out like this. I think many (most?) people have achieved some level of "Recognize" but don't know how to proceed to "Remove" and "Return."
One thing worth considering, however, is that I don't think you can fully Recognize the actual extent of how tech changes us until you at least get into the Remove stage, and maybe even more into the Return stage. Hence my essay to which you link (thank you!): I thought I knew well how bad constant internet was for me and my family but I actually had no idea of the extent to which it prevented me from experiencing my authentic self.
So those programs or experiments that get people on board for a specific practice or for unplugging for a length of time are more important than they might be if it were relatively easy to come to these conclusions on your own. They will get people to the space where they *can* Recognize fully.
It's kind of like when someone is in a clinical depression. The depression itself prevents that person from recognizing what they need to do to get help and getting them to act upon it. Depression delights ol' Screwtape because he can use it to tell people they aren't really depressed, everybody else is just the problem.
So with phones: the shallowness, emptiness, and distraction we experience keeps us from realizing that our healthy norm is actually *far different* from this, and we need to take action to get back there. We think instead that we are doing fine because we can manage to put the phone away for dinnertime.
Yes, that is an excellent point Dixie! The Removal and Recognize seem to be reciprocal steps, as one is needed to prompt the other. I very much appreciated your post on "unplugging" and the feeling of "waking up to a self I thought was no longer there". When observing scenes like the one I described by the bus stop, I feel that people are deeply mesmerized, not realizing that their true identity is being eaten up by their digital selves. Will keep your point in mind...
Yes, that was the most surprising part of the experience for me, that waking up. I thought that I was already awake (especially when not on my phone for a few hours). Not so.
I'm glad you liked it! I look forward to continuing on in this discussion.
It's the electronic version of 'soma' from Brave New World 😔
Depression makes sense as well since blue light shifts prohormones like pregnenolone, which create other hormones like growth hormone, to cortisol (stress) instead:
https://romanshapoval.substack.com/p/the-1-emf-youve-forgotten-about
Fascinating! Yes, I'm convinced that the blue light itself does indeed create problems, as your article seems to show (will have to go back and read the whole thing)!
But I wasn't really trying to say being over-teched causes depression (although indeed, I think it is clear that it does!), but rather than it is like depression. The thing itself -- whether depression or tech addiction/overreliance -- is characterized by a difficulty to see beyond it. So you can't get out.
What a mess, right?