The ubiquity of technology in the lives of executives, other businesspeople and consumers has created a subculture of the Always On — and a brewing tension between productivity and freneticism. For all the efficiency gains that it seemingly provides, the constant stream of data can interrupt not just dinner and family time, but also meetings and creative time, and it can prove very tough to turn off.
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Some people who are persistently wired say it is not uncommon for them to be sitting in a meeting and using a hand-held device to exchange instant messages surreptitiously — with someone in the same meeting. Others may be sitting at a desk and engaging in conversation on two phones, one at each ear. At social events, or in the grandstand at their children’s soccer games, they read news feeds on mobile devices instead of chatting with actual human beings.
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These speed demons say they will fall behind if they disconnect, but they also acknowledge feeling something much more powerful: they are compulsively drawn to the constant stimulation provided by incoming data. Call it O.C.D. — online compulsive disorder.
The New York Times article The Lure of Data: Is It Addictive? describes perfectly something I’ve been noticing all over the place, creeping up for a few years now — and something that I hope I’ll never fall prey to.
This actually ties in to some of my earlier rants about cell phone usage (and rudeness). Everywhere I go, people are constantly so obsessed with being in touch at all times with everyone and everything possible, that the real world practically ceases to exist for them. At the very least, it becomes far less important to them than any of their gadgets, which is my primary frustration. Conversations with someone standing right in front of you are suddenly interrupted for a cell phone’s ring, or a PDA’s beep, or any number of other electronic distractions, and suddenly the person who’s right there becomes secondary to checking the gadget to see what the beep is for.
When did it become so easy to blatantly shrug off real people for e-mail, pager beeps, or any number of other online distractions? And why do so many people accept it so easily? It drives me up the ever-loving wall when I’m being set aside for some gadget, and I make a concerted effort never to do that to others.
This passage really drove me up the wall:
“Ten years ago, you had to be in the office 12 hours,” said Mr. Mehlman, who said he now spent 10 hours a day at work, giving him more time with his wife and three children, while also making use of his wireless-enabled laptop, BlackBerry and mobile phone.
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“I get to help my kids get dressed, feed them breakfast, give them a bath and read them stories at night,” he said. He can also have Lego air fights — a game in which he and his 5-year-old son have imaginary dogfights with Lego airplanes.
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Both love the game, and it has an added benefit for Dad: he can play with one hand while using the other to talk on the phone or check e-mail. The multitasking maneuver occasionally requires a trick: although Mr. Mehlman usually lets his son win the Lego air battles, he sometimes allows himself to win, which forces his son to spend a few minutes putting his plane back together.
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“While he rebuilds his plane, I check my e-mail on the BlackBerry,” Mr. Mehlman explained.
This guy can’t even take the time to play with his son without constantly having one hand on the phone or his computer? Give me a break — this isn’t interrupting a business converation, this is playing with your son! Ugh.
A good friend of mine has been in a couple relationships that failed, among other reasons, because she felt herself to be second in line in priorities — because the computer came first. In at least one of those relationships, it wasn’t even business activities that were the distraction, but instead, the EverQuest online game. I could never understand that attitude. At what point does an online role playing game gain so much importance that you’d ignore someone you’re dating in order to sit at a computer?
I just don’t get it.
Never have, never will.
I’ve got a definite heirarchy to my interactions, and online interactions are definitely at the bottom of the list. If I’m dinking around on a webpage or website, an IM message will take priority. IMs or chat sessions will be put aside for telephone calls. And most importantly, everything electronic will be put aside for someone in the flesh. That’s just the way it goes.
This is one reason I am hesitant to get a cell phone. It would certainly come in handy sometimes, but I don’t want to be plugged in to the rest of the world 24-7, thanks.
Kirsten – I shared your opinion of cell phones until someone showed me it had an “off” button. I am not urging you get one – that is up to you. I am saying, from personal experience, it is possible to have one and still be unplugged. Perhaps it is an Alaskan thing, but it came in very handy when I was in an accident far from a telephone.
I’ve been going to a lot of concerts lately and so far have restrained myself from ripping the phone out of the hands of people who are checking for messages during the show. Twice recently people walked right into me in a store because they were on the phone. Neither apologized.
The thing that bothers me most about all of this is that two years ago it wasn’t a big deal; last year it began to get really annoying, and now for the rest of my life I have to put up with this crap???