Do you use your technology to ‘check-in’ or ‘check-out’?

Can YOU differentiate between TOO MUCH and not enough?

I read this NY Times article this morning Staying in Touch With Home, for Better or Worse and I thought that it’s right in line with what we all struggle with everyday. That delicate balance between too much and not enough. When I think of soldiers texting in the middle of a war I am frightened for them in the same way I am frightened for  anyone texting while driving their car (and I have already admitted my guilt on that count). I understand the desire for the constant contact with family, which is absolutely a distraction and in certain professions like the military there can be a deadly price to pay if one is distracted while on duty.  Is this similar to the distraction that a teen experiences when they take their cell phone to school for example, or posts their affection for a new love on Facebook? Sometimes being over-connected can hurt, not help. There is a difference between desire and necessity, and I believe, therein lies a clue. This article mentioned a soldier who committed suicide after finding out via his cell phone that his girlfriend was cheating on him. His actions will unfortunately be repeated by teens and adults alike all around the globe for very similar reasons. I read many of the comments on that article, I even commented (#33) myself, but one man said that ‘it was a disaster’ and what I want to know is how is it a disaster for active duty military personnel if it is not a disaster for the rest of us?

I think he’s right; it is a disaster! Now that we know there is a problem,

let’s work on a  solution.

Life is full of constant distractions and that is the human struggle isn’t it? Balancing it all. Trying to get your work done while you are thinking of your loved one(s), or checking your email or Facebook , making toast or tea when you should be working. (Procrastinating ?) One of the most popular blogs on WordPress  yesterday was the  Writer Interrupted where the author, Lisa Rivero writes about technology addiction and at the end of her post she queries the reader about what they do to stay on task.  In response to that I wonder sometimes if procrastination isn’t both a problem and/or a solution. Using the example of the writer perhaps doing other things is her mind’s way of saying,”I’m not feelin’ it, I need more stimuli”. Similarly, I imagine for the soldier any distraction from war is a welcome one, but may come at a deadly price, but what about the rest of us? I can answer the question for a teen supposed to be doing their history homework, but instead Facebooking, but I can’t figure out why we are distracting ourselves while we drive? Are we simply trying to accomplish too much at once? Where is the balance? Where do you draw the line? And if adults can’t draw the line then, again, I ask how do we expect our children to be able to do the same?

Why do our children disengage from family life to join their friends on ooVoo, Sketchfu, Facebook or Xbox Live? Are they checking-out or checking-in? Why do I see parents checking their email or texting on their cell phones through their child’s band concerts, awards ceremonies, basketball games? Are they checking-in, or checking-out?  What do you think? What if we simplify to the lowest common denominator and set priorities for ourselves? In my opinion this makes it easier to determine when enough is enough; for example: Is more important that I do my job during business hours or Facebook because I’m ‘addicted’? Should focus while I drive this tank into enemy territory or should I answer a text from my girlfriend (addicted to love)? Should I be taking photographs of my substitute teacher in class or should I be doing my classwork (addicted to my cell phone)? Should I watch my son play the drums or should I text my best friend about the ‘fashion no-no’ in the front row?  I think when we pose questions as simple as these to ourselves the answers are clear. Desire does not equate necessity, and in the instances above ‘addiction’ is a term used as an excuse to try justify making desire a necessity.