Information and Self Awareness

In the interest of full disclosure: I work in the IT industry, I have 4 working PC's and 2 laptops in my apartment.  I have a smartphone.  I am CONSTANTLY connected.

Now, all that being said, I question the emotional intelligence of being that "on" all the time.  What are we doing to ourselves?  An article on NPR "Digital Overload: Your Brain on Gadgets" references a study by some neurologists who decided to study how they'd react to a "no-tech" vacation in a remote location in Utah.

What they came up with was more questions (go figure).  However, they noticed something they termed the "Three Day Effect". Basically on the third day they felt more relaxed and less inclined to reach for their cell phones.

According to a study conducted at UC San Diego, the average person today consumes about three times as much information as the typical person in 1960....

{DING!} Sorry, that was my Twitter alarm going off.....

The New York Times reports that the average computer user checks 40 websites a day!

{BEEP!} Hold on, that is my Facebook.....

All this information may be important to us.

{GONG!} CNN Breaking news....be right back....

But is it REALLY necessary to have all this thrust upon us?  Why are we choosing to learn about all events of the day, as they happen?

The globalization of the human experience is important.  Knowing what is happening in the world is our responsibility if we are ever going to make our experience on this planet better. 

I believe in The Butterfly Effect, however I question if it possible that all this information is causing us to be so involved in events happening half way across the world that we lose sight of our localized environment and the "Butterflies" that are in our own backyard.

I am not calling for isolationism, I am not saying we shouldn't be aware of news in all our radiating spheres of influence.  I am saying that (for our own health) we need to have the emotional intelligence to realize those things that we have the ability to change and those things that are beyond our reach.

Information awareness is much like that 1978 video game "Space invaders".  We have to pick off those invaders that are closest to us while being aware of the ones that are further off. because the remote ones will get closer as time passes!  Occasionally, there are larger issues that can't be ignored, but we can't stop aiming at the closer targets either....

Is this tough?  Sure. 
Is this possible?  {RIIIIING!}  Gotta go....that is my phone.

(You can play Space Invaders HERE! )