Mindfully Connected \u2013 Nora Young and Groundedness in the Digital Age<\/b><\/p>\n
Mindfulness: the state or quality of being mindful; attention; \u2020memory (obs.); \u2020intention, purpose (obs.) <\/i><\/p>\n
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Nora Young only briefly touches on the subject of mindfulness in her book The Virtual Self, <\/i>in fact it covers only one chapter. The book, which chronicles Young\u2019s account of digitally tracking herself, floats between critical social commentary and entertaining anecdotal observations in a thoughtful and compassionate tone. The chapter of my<\/i> interest, namely \u201cThe Delights and Damage of Digital Life\u201d focuses on the \u201cdisembodiment\u201d or \u201cungrounding\u201d that might be caused by too much dependence on the digital world. I found this chapter particularly powerful because, as a yoga teacher who is also a huge fan of digital technology, the challenge of groundedness is something that I am faced with daily, and something that I struggle to help others with, too. In this chapter, Young seems to be asking the question: How do we balance the demanding ephemeral digital world, while staying grounded in our bodies?<\/p>\n
One answer to that may be a new phenomenon called \u201cdigital detoxes\u201d, where participants pay upwards of hundreds of dollars to embark on nature retreats that are strictly digital \u2013free zones. One such getaway is called \u201cCamp Grounded\u201d and is run by an organization, aptly called Digital Detox. Camp Grounded is tucked away in the wilderness amidst the Silicone Valley, and it\u2019s website advertises hands-on grounding activities such as yoga, hiking, cooking, art and organic meals, as well as \u201cOff the Grid, No Boss, No Cellphone, No Clock, No Work\u201d (http:\/\/thedigitaldetox.org\/<\/a>).<\/p>\n At first glance, this type of activity doesn\u2019t seem any different from a typical retreat except for its almost obsessive dedication to being digital-free. The website boasts \u201cliberation from technology\u201d and warns that \u201cfriendships at camp are based on real-life connections.\u201d It\u2019s disturbing that we need to be reminded and coached into making these real-life connections – that stripped bare of our Facebook friend count and status updates, we would have to actually engage in real-life one on one interactions with real people.<\/p>\n Ironically, along with this trend towards \u201cdigital detoxes\u201d, for those who cannot afford to tune out of technology, there has emerged a whole host of new applications that can be downloaded and installed onto a smartphone, which promise to streamline and simplify your digital life. For the desperately addicted there is the Adbusters\u2019 inspired Digital Detox app which \u201cirrevocably disables your Android phone for a period of time you specify\u201d (https:\/\/tirl.org\/software\/digitaldetox\/#removal<\/a>). \u00a0That means that once you\u2019ve initiated the detox, there is no way to reactivate your device, aside from a factory reset, effectively rebooting and reformatting it. The uplifting part of this new trend, is that it signifies a collective desire to balance out from the digital craze that has swept society over the past decade or so.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be digital,\u201d says Young, \u201cis to feel a perpetual, lightweight sense of connection and energy.\u201d It\u2019s a \u201cthin, fast, evolving, highly collaborative culture\u201d (81). The emergence of digital detoxes shows that collectively we\u2019ve become aware of the implicit danger of drowning in our digital lives; of being caught in the deadly undertow of digital multitasking and constantly updated statuses. If we imagine the digital world as a swiftly moving river, digital detoxes offer a rock in the current, an ability to jump out, catch our breath and find our footing.<\/p>\n In The Virtual Self,<\/i> Young comments on the \u201ccontinuous partial attention,\u201d that is fostered by a digital engagement \u00a0(89). She describes how \u201cwe scan the digital horizon, perpetually on the lookout for the next hit\u201d (90). She questions whether we are truly multitasking with our various digital devices \u2013 cell phones Facebook, Pinterest etc., constantly beeping for our attention – or if we are just only semi-engaged all the time, and if so, what is this doing to our health?<\/p>\n A new report by the University of Edinburg purports that the more social media connections that someone has, the more stressful social media will be for that person.<\/p>\n \u201cStress arises when a user presents a version of themself on Facebook that is unacceptable to some of their online \u2018friends\u2019, such as posts displaying behaviour such as swearing, recklessness, drinking and smoking.\u201d\u00a0 according to a Press Release for the study. In addition to being constantly bombarded with new information, the study suggests that digital connections cause stress because of the need to constantly be monitoring what our digital selves might betray about our personal selves.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to make space for that which cannot be statistically documented: inchoate, subjective, embodied experience.\u201d (page 94) says Young. Perhaps the emergence of digital detoxes, mindfulness apps and attention to the connection of our physical bodies to a \u201cdisembodied\u201d virtual self is the next step in our evolution to a discovering a healthy digital self.<\/p>\n I think Young is correct when she says, \u201cbeing present is something that a lot of us have forgotten how to do\u201d (96). This has been true for years well before the emergence of our digital lives. Mindfulness, stillness of the mind and connection to the body is a part of the struggle of being human; Buddhist teachings have been around for centuries with this message. No matter how many calories counted, steps mapped, or conversations recorded, a quantified digital self could never replace the deep sense of self discovery that comes from attentive introspection.<\/p>\n References:<\/b><\/p>\n Young, N. (2013). The Virtual Self: How our digital lives are altering the world around us<\/i>. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart.<\/p>\n http:\/\/thedigitaldetox.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n http:\/\/www.businessweek.com\/articles\/2013-10-31\/digital-detox-a-tech-free-retreat-for-internet-addicts<\/a><\/p>\n http:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2012\/11\/121126131218.htm<\/a><\/p>\n http:\/\/techland.time.com\/2013\/12\/20\/shut-it-down-a-digital-detox-plan-for-the-holidays\/<\/a><\/p>\n http:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/technology\/10540261\/screen-time-ipad-tablet-digital-detox-difital-addiction.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mindfully Connected \u2013 Nora Young and Groundedness in the Digital Age Mindfulness: the state or quality of being mindful; attention; \u2020memory (obs.); \u2020intention, purpose (obs.) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 -Oxford English Dictionary Nora Young only briefly touches on the subject of mindfulness in her book The Virtual Self, in fact it covers only one chapter. The book, which … Continue reading Mindfully Connected – Nora Young and Grounding the Digital Self<\/span>