Every medium of communication has its strengths and weaknesses. Some of the strongest media have the greatest weaknesses. David Abram’s wonderful The Spell of the Sensuous makes a powerful, and for me convincing, case that literacy helped sever our awareness of the meaning and communication intrinsic to the natural world. Its gains were great, but so were its costs.
I have become increasingly disturbed by the amount of time I spend in front of this computer, caused partly but not entirely by this blog. There is something almost hypnotic about sitting in front of a screen, mouse in hand, examining the news and information that can so easily be brought up on the screen. It provides a sense of connection, and I think seeking connection is a defining part of our character as human beings.
I deliberately refrained from downloading computer games because I suspect that if Civilization or similar games were in my system, I’d play all the time. But even absent Civilization, computer reading seems to be taking up way too much time and also interfering with my ease of reading books. I seem to be reading books in ever smaller chunks at any given time.
Friends of mine describe roughly similar experiences and worries.
So starting tomorrow, Saturday, I am taking a day a week off from the internet. I might occasionally break down with one email scan a day, but I hope not. And that will be it.
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