The day-to-day pressures
of life mean that we often do not have time to ponder new ideas. Since the invention
of the Gutenberg Printing Press, we have been producing more books and
information than an average human being could ever read in their lifetime. The beauty,
and irony, of Gutenberg’s invention was the ability to produce a mass amount of
books at extremely low cost. This resulted in the unfamiliar dilemma of having
a wide choice of books to read, and the beginning of what is now called information
overload.
Today we have computers,
iPhones, iPads, Kindles and Podcasts that feed us with gigabytes of information
at even lower cost. We are bombarded with advertising, entertainment, news,
music, WhatsApp messages, phone calls… the list goes on. Unfortunately, much of
the information we receive is of little value. We are increasingly being driven
by technology – we have to answer that e-mails, constantly check our messages
during dinner, even in toilet. In 2016, Malaysians spent 4 hours 38 minutes on
PC/tablet, 3 hours 37 minutes on smartphone, and 2 hours 9 minutes on internet
TV (such as YouTube) per day. In one week, on average Malaysians spent 1,519
minutes or 25 hours 32 minutes on mobile phone online! 56% is using for social media apps and 43% is
for watching videos online*.
Facebook
and WhatsApp are the main sources of information overload for young people
especially. They can be useful tools for sharing information, but when taken to
the extreme, they can become a colossal waste of time. While the printing press
helped make books easily available, the Internet has caused an exponential
growth in information. With this
information overload, how can we think?
To
function effectively, the brain needs time and space to process the tsunami of
stimulus it receives. The first step is to evaluate
your day. How much time do you spend responding, interacting and reacting
to technology – be it e-mail, smartphone, TV or online game? You may be
surprised at how much technology has come to rule your life. It’s time to
re-evaluate how you live, decide what is important to you and re-establish control
over your life. Technology is good, but let you the one who control it, not the
other way round. Giving yourself time and space to think is fundamental to
becoming more innovative and creative.
Practical
Suggestions:
§Give yourself
sometime to think. Take an hour off and sit in the park or take a long walk and
do nothing – you will be surprised at the ideas that come to you.
§
Set aside a day
or half a day a week to switch off (or in Aeroplane
mode) all electronic communication. This will be hard at first but keep at it. Use
the time to do something you enjoy. Something physical is better.
§
Take time to
delete junk mails and pictures received from WhatsApp that is not important to
you.
Lord, Give
Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)
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