Understanding the Web
"Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men."- Martin Luther King, Jr.
Collectively we check our phones over 8 billion times a day. By the end of our lives we will have spent years looking at our phones. What good is all that time spent if we aren’t using it wisely? Think of all the skills we could hone if we spent years perfecting them.
The issue isn’t that we have access to this new realm of data, the problem arises when we don’t know what to do with it. This overstimulation of information is too much for most of us to handle. How many hours have we spent checking the same apps, repeatedly seeing the same posts, and reading stupid clickbait articles like this or this. Within the past 20 years we have been able to Google any question imaginable and have an answer within seconds. This is such a recent advancement and because of that we haven't been taught how to use this learning tool properly.
One thing I’ve found really helpful is following people or brands who align with my True Self. When I had Twitter I was scrolling through my feed and constantly reading negative tweets that 20-somethings write; complaining about university, work, being tired, wanting pizza, looking for companionship. I wasn’t following anything inspiring and it didn't make me feel good. I constantly thought to myself what a waste of time checking that timeline was.
On the contrary, when I look at my tumblr account I follow strictly conscious blogs filled with the things I love and am interested in. Because of this I often end up on different parts of the web reading articles that align with who I want to be. It leaves me with new thoughts and ideas that I want to share with my friends and loved ones; creating not only stronger interpersonal bonds but introverted time well spent as well.
It’s astounding how many likeminded people I can find on the internet. I am grateful for the progress of technology so far in my lifetime. I believe the rise in collective consciousness has very much been influenced by our internet access. A lot of my personal philosophies have been validated and inspired by so much of what I’ve been able to find online. I think our next step is learning how to properly utilize this brilliant gift. We need to find a balance between humanity and technology so that they can coexist.