Does Technology Serve You Or Do You Serve It?

If technology is supposed to make life easier, why then do so many of us continue to feel so crazed all the time? Perhaps it’s because we're not using technology to serve us, like helping to simply our lives and to satisfy our deepest desires, but are instead serving it; in other words treating technology as an idol to which we are beholden or as our master for whom we are enslaved.

Innovation is one of the greatest things human beings can do; it is an indelible mark of Spiritful Living and a necessary ingredient for spirit wellness. But when we become obsessed either by the drive for it, or the technology that often results from it (like checking our emails and voicemails at all hours of the day, not knowing when to stop posting on Facebook or a forum, tweeting like a caged bird, watching television or movies just because they’re on, thinking of “together time” as two people with four ear-buds, and so forth), we stop being human--we stop living.

Consider these three tech tips for a better life:

1. Be mindful of how frequently, how intensely, and how long you use technology (i.e. computer, cell phone, regular phone, email, iPod, DVD, etc.), and set boundaries. If it feels like excess, then it probably is.
   
   
2. Know when you’re being enthusiastic and when you’re obsessing. If you’ve truly got something worthwhile to communicate, then by all means do so. If you want to connect with a friend or colleague, go for it. If sound makes your spirit soar, definitely plug in. But when the absence of technology is painful, and you’re feeling the tug of techno-tyranny, then it’s time to pull the plug out.
   
   
3. Remind yourself that the wonders of technology are admirable only when they serve our individual and collective needs and desires. When a cell phone call can ease the anxious mind of a parent whose child isn’t home when they should’ve been. Or when a favorite television show makes the hassles of a long day disappear. Or when the iPad makes reading a good book more accessible, then technology is working the way it is intended. But when we are filled with resentment because we feel obligated again to “work late” at home. Or envious because we think we don’t measure up since our gadgets are outdated. Or rageful when all hell breaks loose because the technology has failed us, then it’s not working for us as it can and should.

Remember, the sound of silence can be as meaningful and transcendent as those coming though the speakers. No upgrade will ever be as fulfilling or worthwhile as a good laugh, a good meal, a good insight, or good friends. And the Facebook sound bites, the tweety quips, and the email emoticons can never compete with a good hug, a purposeful touch, or the physical presence of another person.