Now, But Not Here, And Are You Living Your Present?

A few days ago I got out of teaching a class at the university and on the way from the classroom to the parking lot I quickly pulled out my cellphone to check my emails as I walked to the car. When I almost tripped because I was looking at the screen instead of where I was walking, I had a kind of epiphany: I was obviously present at that moment, but I wasn’t really present at that place. I am not the first to point out the paradox that the technologies that allow us to shorten distances and be close to people who live far away, can also distance us from the people with whom we work or even with whom we live.

An article from the New York Times talks about the mental cost we are paying for our love of electronic devices and how our “addiction” to them can have a neurophysiological explanation. Researchers say our ability to focus is being affected by the rapid, intermittent “shots” of information we constantly receive from our computers, mobile phones and other sources. Although people believe that “multitasking” (doing several things at the same time) makes them more efficient, much research reveals the opposite: those who do many activities simultaneously have more difficulty concentrating and selecting information well and feel more stressed. . And the most interesting thing: this fractured and unfocused way of thinking persists even when the person is no longer using the computer. Some propose that our brain has (or had until now) evolved to be alert to new information and possible warning signals, because our lives could depend on them. That is why all the information that we have access to today on the internet is so attractive. The problem is that today there is so much information that it floods us and puts our brain in a state of constant stress. Current technology has an exponentially greater power and impact. Makes my life easier but present us with challenges that we must consider so that technology is at our service and we do not become slaves to it.

Margarita Tarragona Ph.D.