By John Ardill

Here in retirement, I may not be faced with work every day, but there is something that I cannot avoid:  technology.

It is everywhere, and I recognize its efforts to trigger my emotions and influence how I think.

Can I live without it?  No.  It is here to stay.  But I can choose to mitigate its efforts to persuade me to buy an endless array of products and services, and its attempts to stimulate my fears about what is happening in Canada and the rest of the world.

I see it eroding our mental health.  Its negative effects on children and young adults have been receiving, appropriately, a lot of press (here, for example). It is also affecting adults (see here, for example).

And I see it eroding our humanity, which includes the physical, mental, and spiritual attributes that distinguish us from other animals.  As humans, we are created magnificently with the unique characteristics of having compassion, sympathy, intuitiveness, and a heart that will always tell us the truth if we listen. 

But look around at how people are acting.  We could chalk it up to stress, but it is more than that.  We are becoming more unhappy, and more unkind.  

The Electronic-Free Day 

What can we do about it?  Personally, I have drawn a line in the sand, between my wellbeing and tech, by creating The Electronic-Free Day.  

For one 24-hour period each week, I turn everything off.  No phones, no emails, no Internet.  

Has the world come to an end?  Of course not.  The truth is that I have not missed out on anything.  Instead of being at the beck and call of tech, tech must wait for me.  This has created in me a great sense of freedom and control, and is helping me protect my humanity.

I hope you found this article to be thought-provoking.  Let me know:  what are you going to do, to survive the onslaught of technology?

John Ardill
Founder and Mentor
Ardill Group
Direct: 1 416 400 5882
Office: 1 905 907 7000
john@ardillgroup.com