[Applause]
hello everyone it’s wonderful to be here
thank you very much so yes technology
plays a role in our everyday lives from
driving cars to connecting to people and
one thing that it does not do is human
connection and human connection is a
vital element it is something that we
cannot do without and that’s possibly
why for years or decades we have lived
in tribes and in communities and in
nations human connection is vital for
our evolvement our growth on an
emotional level and thanks to technology
we are not able to connect and
communicate with people all over the
world at any time of day or night but I
wonder what would happen if we took our
devices and the internet away how many
of us would feel like a part of our
lives is missing the average person
spends 4 hours a day online now if you
think that most of us spend 8 hours a
day working possibly 1 to 2 hours
commuting either way and we should be
getting 6 to 8 hours of sleep and then
we’re spending 4 hours online how much
time are we spending on our
relationships with our partners with our
children even with our friends and our
family so yes technology has taken us
fast forward but I wonder if it hasn’t
also taken us backwards especially when
it comes to how we are having
conversations back in ancient times when
we used to communicate through symbols
and pictures and I sometimes wonder if
we don’t hide
behind those symbols and those pictures
because we are not being honest with how
we are feeling or what we would really
like to say and communicate and I also
see you every day in the work that I do
the impact their technology has on
families the divorce rate is 1 in every
2 and that is only divorces it’s not
people that are cohabitating and living
together in schools bullying is a big
problem especially in the cyber world so
technology is aiding a lot of things for
us when it comes to communication work
environments but I also wonder how it is
hampering our lives and the quality of
our lives and the people in it children
are acting out what they are not
receiving at home gone are the days when
a parent could stay at home
and nurture the home and the environment
for kids to grow up in because due to
survival most couples have to work these
days so children are acting out in a
number of ways and things that they are
not getting at home the love the
attention the connection and how do we
try and take care of that many of us
give them the latest toys the latest
gadgets the latest games when actually
what they’re really crying out for is
love and connection I see it in couples
that I work with every day in fact just
this morning my heavy and high we’re
having this exact conversation he’s
convinced that my phone is attached to
my hip I’m threatening to attach his
phone to his hip because if it’s not in
the car
it’s upstairs or it’s on silent and I
can never get hold of him him he says
but I’m right here and I go I know but
what if it was an emergency and I needed
to get hold of you so we constantly have
this conversation
at home and I can see a lot of you are
smiling so you know what I’m talking
about so my challenge to you is yes we
want to change the world yes we want to
develop the latest technology the latest
apps we want to be innovative and we
want to be creative but I want to
challenge you to do that in your
relationships I want to challenge you to
unplug and disconnect from the world
just for five minutes
the world will still be there when you
come back be fully present in your
relationship with your partner with your
children but also in the workplace
considering that we spend eight hours a
day in the workplace how much time do
you really take to get to know the
people that you are working with or do
you just greet them as you waltz down
the corridor to your desk before you
plug in and start working away how many
of you really know what’s going on in
your colleagues lives the names of their
children their birthdays so yes
technology plays a large role but at the
same time I think it’s hindering us to
British anthropologist Robin Dunbar says
the magic number when it comes to the
quality relationships is a hundred and
fifty the minute we go over a hundred
and fifty relationships we start losing
their sense of connection now I don’t
know about you but I did a quick count
the other day and I couldn’t even reach
a hundred of my closest friends so no
wonder we are obsessed with the likes
and the shares and the tweets and the
number of followers that we have but
what does that really mean
in terms of who you are as a person and
the quality and the value of the
relationships in your life and how much
time are you spending with those people
because how you leave people feeling how
you leave them at the end of the day
when you walk away is how will they will
remember you forever so the next time
you want to pick up your phone
and send a message to a friend or a
family member
either pick up the phone and have a
conversation with them or actually go
and meet with them and spend some
face-to-face time with them and build
that connection because when times are
hard and we look for support who do we
turn to first our relationships our
partners our family our friends and in
the business plan world who is it that
opens doors for us who is it that helps
us get places
it’s our relationships whether it be
mentors whether it be our managers
whether it be our role models that we
look up to you but if you do not make
time for your relationships then over
time you will not have relationships
[Applause]
hello everyone it’s wonderful to be here
thank you very much so yes technology
plays a role in our everyday lives from
driving cars to connecting to people and
one thing that it does not do is human
connection and human connection is a
vital element it is something that we
cannot do without and that’s possibly
why for years or decades we have lived
in tribes and in communities and in
nations human connection is vital for
our evolvement our growth on an
emotional level and thanks to technology
we are not able to connect and
communicate with people all over the
world at any time of day or night but I
wonder what would happen if we took our
devices and the internet away how many
of us would feel like a part of our
lives is missing the average person
spends 4 hours a day online now if you
think that most of us spend 8 hours a
day working possibly 1 to 2 hours
commuting either way and we should be
getting 6 to 8 hours of sleep and then
we’re spending 4 hours online how much
time are we spending on our
relationships with our partners with our
children even with our friends and our
family so yes technology has taken us
fast forward but I wonder if it hasn’t
also taken us backwards especially when
it comes to how we are having
conversations back in ancient times when
we used to communicate through symbols
and pictures and I sometimes wonder if
we don’t hide
behind those symbols and those pictures
because we are not being honest with how
we are feeling or what we would really
like to say and communicate and I also
see you every day in the work that I do
the impact their technology has on
families the divorce rate is 1 in every
2 and that is only divorces it’s not
people that are cohabitating and living
together in schools bullying is a big
problem especially in the cyber world so
technology is aiding a lot of things for
us when it comes to communication work
environments but I also wonder how it is
hampering our lives and the quality of
our lives and the people in it children
are acting out what they are not
receiving at home gone are the days when
a parent could stay at home
and nurture the home and the environment
for kids to grow up in because due to
survival most couples have to work these
days so children are acting out in a
number of ways and things that they are
not getting at home the love the
attention the connection and how do we
try and take care of that many of us
give them the latest toys the latest
gadgets the latest games when actually
what they’re really crying out for is
love and connection I see it in couples
that I work with every day in fact just
this morning my heavy and high we’re
having this exact conversation he’s
convinced that my phone is attached to
my hip I’m threatening to attach his
phone to his hip because if it’s not in
the car
it’s upstairs or it’s on silent and I
can never get hold of him him he says
but I’m right here and I go I know but
what if it was an emergency and I needed
to get hold of you so we constantly have
this conversation
at home and I can see a lot of you are
smiling so you know what I’m talking
about so my challenge to you is yes we
want to change the world yes we want to
develop the latest technology the latest
apps we want to be innovative and we
want to be creative but I want to
challenge you to do that in your
relationships I want to challenge you to
unplug and disconnect from the world
just for five minutes
the world will still be there when you
come back be fully present in your
relationship with your partner with your
children but also in the workplace
considering that we spend eight hours a
day in the workplace how much time do
you really take to get to know the
people that you are working with or do
you just greet them as you waltz down
the corridor to your desk before you
plug in and start working away how many
of you really know what’s going on in
your colleagues lives the names of their
children their birthdays so yes
technology plays a large role but at the
same time I think it’s hindering us to
British anthropologist Robin Dunbar says
the magic number when it comes to the
quality relationships is a hundred and
fifty the minute we go over a hundred
and fifty relationships we start losing
their sense of connection now I don’t
know about you but I did a quick count
the other day and I couldn’t even reach
a hundred of my closest friends so no
wonder we are obsessed with the likes
and the shares and the tweets and the
number of followers that we have but
what does that really mean
in terms of who you are as a person and
the quality and the value of the
relationships in your life and how much
time are you spending with those people
because how you leave people feeling how
you leave them at the end of the day
when you walk away is how will they will
remember you forever so the next time
you want to pick up your phone
and send a message to a friend or a
family member
either pick up the phone and have a
conversation with them or actually go
and meet with them and spend some
face-to-face time with them and build
that connection because when times are
hard and we look for support who do we
turn to first our relationships our
partners our family our friends and in
the business plan world who is it that
opens doors for us who is it that helps
us get places
it’s our relationships whether it be
mentors whether it be our managers
whether it be our role models that we
look up to you but if you do not make
time for your relationships then over
time you will not have relationships
[Applause]
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