You probably don't need a psychologist to tell you this is having a huge effect on all of us. But in Doreen Dodgen-Magee's book Deviced, she helps us reflect on what this means for our relationships, our creativity, and our ability to feel resilient. She asks us to think about our relationship to our devices.
And yes, that's exactly what it is - a relationship.
I felt disturbed by this book. Disturbed in a very good way. She talks about our "embodied lives" and what is at stake for us as we spend more and more time in digital spaces. I am really struck by the word embodied, and that boundary, or lack of boundary between an embodied life and a digital one. I can't shake the idea out of my mind - how much we interrupt our embodied lives.
She raises concern about how our devices are affecting our ability to maintain eye contact. Imagine the ripple effect in every relationship and our ability to bond and feel cared for and connected with others.
An added value in this book is the significant research she has gathered for us. Every question I have ever wondered about regarding technology's impact on our psyche has been answered in this book. She includes a wide swath of research from the speed of images, video violence, porn, attention span, impact on children, overwhelm, digital overload, radiation, etc.
Are you concerned about the radiation that leaches off your phone? I will never use my phone when it has one bar after reading the research she has gathered up in this book.
Her exploration of how the immediacy of getting answers online is impacting resiliency is stunning. Having spent a lifetime of work on helping people develop their resiliency, I am learning how our digital spaces are undermining our embodied resiliency. I feel compelled to share this book and get us all into a different and deeper conversation.
This book will make you ask yourself some questions. I am certain many will change their habits after reading this book. There is something very impactful about the way she has laid out what is understood in research and the impact on our embodied selves.
This is a worthy and disturbing read.
