Internet Paralysis Costing us our "me" Time

In a time not so long ago in my memory, hard working adults re-centered by experiencing “me” time to decompress from demanding jobs and get more in tune with themselves. There were no cell phones, beepers, or Internet. People indulged in good books, had ample stress free vacations, took self-improvement classes, meditated, and volunteered in their communities.

Fast forward to today. Well-we still read books (e-books), go on vacations (long weekends), and volunteer (hopefully not per a court order), but not as much and it’s much more hurried. We’re now part of a faster paced society that’s gotta have more, more, more. We’ve become alarmingly overstressed, depressed, and obese because of the lack of quality “me” time for health and wellness

One thing I blame is the Internet. If Al Gore actually did invent it, he forgot to include an automatic shut off devise so we could take some “me” time. In a term I dub as “Internet Paralysis”, we’re constantly glued to our screens for work, family, associates, friends, research, and more.

You see it in the corporate world, executives and employees with blackberries and other PDA devices in that constant state of the slight head tilt sending emails for their job. It may even be after 6p, but the work stays with them long into the evening cutting down on “me” time. Or, once they get home from the office, it’s fire up the computer and login to the office email account and get some more work done.

You see it with your network of friends, family, and associates. Long threads of email conversations and responses that take so long to answer and respond to that before you know it, you’ve been “internet paralyzed” right through your “me” time. The time you should have taken to improve your health and wellness.

You see it when you want to plan a vacation. You insist on getting the best deal and researching online travel sites to book your itinerary. Instead of calling a travel agent, you’ve worked your way through any “me” time you would have had researching. Now you’re overstressed and really need a vacation. But, when you finally go on vacation, you find yourself going into withdrawals to check your emails…the thing that you were supposed to be getting away from. You just can’t help not knowing what’s going on out there in your job and network of friends and associates. So, you go to the hotel lobby to the room with the computer and internet instead of being on the beach meditating and getting more in tune with your spiritual self.

You see it with pop culture. Because of your computer, you know more about your favorite rock star, movie star, or celebrity through fan websites, blogs and chat forums than maybe they know about themselves. Do we really need to know what nightclub they were walking out of at 4a last Saturday night? Wouldn’t it be better to discover more about us and our own spirituality and strengths by having some quality “me” time.
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Maybe the best thing we can do to improve this situation is set a daily reminder to pop up on our computer screens reminding us not to forget our “me” time and stay in touch with ourselves. But, then again maybe it’s just…”me”.

Contact:
Jack Witt, CPT
www.getfitwithWitt.com
818-760-3891