there’s a question that I think has been
on many people’s minds does technology
need a timeout well I will not stand up
here and say negative things about
technology I willingly and happily use
it
I do believe implicitly there’s a time
and a place so I’m going to suggest an
app after all there’s an app for
everything right but before you break
out the smartphone or tablet it’s an
acronym we teachers love our acronyms
it stands for awareness patience and
presence we hear words like awareness
and mindfulness all the time well what
do we do with them I’m proposing an
awareness and a heightened and broadened
perception not only of the world
immediately around us but much further
reaching than that shawn Achor author of
the happiness advantage says quote our
perception of reality changes our
experience of that reality so let me say
that once more our perception of reality
changes our experience of that reality
so you are one of 100 people in this
audience yet how many people could you
describe based on when you first walked
in maybe you were on your phone taking
pictures maybe you checked into this
TEDx event on Facebook observation not
judgment I checked in point is were you
here or were you here so here’s what I’d
like to do I’d like to have everyone
stand up please get the blood moving a
little bit thank you I’d like you to
introduce yourself to someone new maybe
share yourself share a couple things
about yourself that maybe make you
different from anyone else around you as
for me I would probably tell you that I
have a really strange obsession with
Heights hang gliding skydiving
parasailing you name it I love it so
we’ll have 30 seconds on the clock and
I’ll give you a little bit of a heads up
just so we can settle back in again
alright ready go
all right so we can settle back in thank
you well first of all thank you I love
the vibe and the energy in the room that
was wonderful see so hopefully you found
you met someone new perhaps someone whom
you may never have met if we didn’t do
this exercise the funny thing is you’ve
probably passed this person 50 times
before today but now that you’re aware
of them you’re going to see them
everywhere but awareness reaches beyond
a quick introduction it’s more than an
awareness of a physical presence it’s an
emotional intellectual social one as
well about a month ago my friends and I
walked into a restaurant and the hostess
greeted us cheerfully and said welcome
it’s mindful Monday it was like hey what
is that that sounds so fun so she
pointed to a basket and she said well we
invite you but don’t require you to put
your cell phones in there while you’re
eating your meal and then as my friends
and I had our cell phones already in the
basket she went so far as to incentivize
us with a 10% discount on our meal there
was no need she had us at mindful Monday
clearly this is on people’s minds the
next P in our the first P in our app
stands for patients at a time when
technology grants us instant access to
whatever we want in whomever we need we
have been conditioned to be anything but
patient and it can be a veritable
challenge you want to see just how
patient someone is sit beside them while
they’re searching for something on slow
internet speeds
you’ll see how patient they are if time
is valuable so we like money or
commodity then we can waste time we can
save time we can spend time when someone
says impatiently I just don’t have the
time for that let’s unfold that for just
a moment so you mean to tell me that you
just watched four hours straight of
Netflix by you I may or may not mean me
but that we don’t have time to sit
face-to-face over a cup of coffee or go
for a walk we make time for the people
and the things that are important to us
sometimes we have to create that time in
order for that to happen but we have the
power over what we do with our time
don’t we
the second P and our app stands for
presence how do we teach our children
our students ourselves to be more
present this is a gift from a popular TV
show called How I Met Your Mother it’s a
common scene among all demographics now
it’s not just tweens teens 20 or 30
something’s it’s everyone and it is
everywhere interestingly enough about
five six years ago it’s my students who
came to me to say why is it that people
can’t communicate face-to-face anymore
advances in technology would be the easy
answer its technology’s fault but is it
mary meeker analyst for the technology
sector was listed by Forbes as one of
the top 100 most powerful people in the
world from her extensive research on
internet and overall technology trends
she found that we check our cell phones
wait for it 150 times a day on average
maybe that seems unbelievable to you so
let’s break it down the smart phone is a
solution to the problem of having to
carry a phone a camera a computer an
iPod a GPS a watch I mean I’m check my
phone for the time the weather internet
searches social media multiple sites and
apps the email and the list goes on and
on now it doesn’t seem so far-fetched
does it on just one day please keep
track of how many times you access your
cellphone because if our attention is
here 150 plus times a day then our
attention is not here let’s be more
present over 50 years ago intellect
scholar and philosopher Marshall McLuhan
forewarned us that the electric
technology explosion had become an
employee
and he was not talking about internet
pac-man that new media create radical
forces in our lives kind of like radio
and TV Winston
the challenge is in understanding how to
navigate these albeit unpredictable
changing realities amidst these radical
forces in a way that helps us to
participate more fully in all aspects of
our lives relationships friendships
school and work
McLuhan also coined the phrase the
global village in one single character
the hashtag formerly known as the pound
sign
hashtag TEDx on Instagram will all will
yield all of the latest pictures that we
upload the overall concept of the global
village is the world as one single
community brought together by various
lines of communication each medium
through which we communicate truly as
McLuhan posits is the message the medium
is the message so let’s use our app to
become more aware patient and present
across intellectual cultural and social
landscapes so that we can discuss the
transformative nature of technology and
its impact on communication
intellectually we are at the height of
information literacy the Internet has
opened up doors and windows of infinite
possibilities operative word being
infinite there is no reaching the end of
the Internet it’s just not possible that
is exciting and terrifying all at once
do we just skim across the surface of
the information or do we delve deeper
and become experts in our chosen fields
and interests let’s use our app to
become more aware of all of the
information available to us and more
patient in finding the most effective
sources top three Google searches might
yield good results but don’t we want
great results with all this information
and PS we think we are so good at
multitasking
even though current research tells us
that we are still at our best and we are
focusing on one task at a time
dr. Miller neuroscience professor at MIT
tells us that we were doing something
like
looking on the phone or emailing
facebooking texting that we are
competing those tasks are actually
competing for the same exact part of our
brain we think and say we’re
multitasking who were actually just
shifting from one task to the other
let’s hit the pause button for just a
moment and process the information of
hand now culturally we speak so often of
diversity equity and inclusion if I may
there’s one all-encompassing concept
compassion for people in general for if
we admire diversity if we believe in
equity and if we nourish inclusion
doesn’t that fall under the umbrella of
compassion over 40 years ago coca-cola
came up with an ad campaign it was the
metaphor concept of bringing the whole
world together with something as simple
as a soft drink
you might remember it from the series
finale of Mad Men McLuhan’s very concept
of the global village was personified in
this iconic commercial from there they
brought together 100 young people from
around the world and they gathered to
them to a hilltop in Italy what better
place and they put a coca-cola in their
hand and they all sang about the world
in perfect harmony oh hush tag my people
the last line of the song is it’s the
real thing
what the world wants today what is the
real thing only we can answer that
technology has the ability to either
insulate us from or expose us to what’s
going on the world around us on YouTube
there are these videos called if the
world were 100 people while we are 100
people so let’s say we represent the
seven point seven billion plus people in
the world how many of us would have
improved water sixty-seven Internet
eight college education seven how many
of us would make $2 a day
or less 43 you know I could go backstage
right now and find $2 and change
probably on the bottom of my person yet
someone in this world had to work an
entire day for that just knowing
something like this can make us more
aware hopefully more patient with other
cultures and ideally more present and
grateful within our own technology gives
us exactly what we search for we become
what we read and what we watch let’s
read and watch those texts that help us
approach other people more
compassionately so that we can find the
commonalities between us then we can
move away from labels and barriers and
closer to greater kindness and
understanding finally socially clearly
the landscape has changed with
technology and using social media as an
example again I’m not going to say
negative things about it I get to go on
my phone and call my friend from Mumbai
India or my friends from Bologna and
Turin Italy that is remarkable
after all social media is human
interaction however I will say again
there’s a time and a place the language
has changed for example the very
definition of what it means to be or
have a friend has also changed it is up
to us to decide how we use social media
let me ask you this can our friendships
and relationships exist without social
media and virtual communication have we
been so socialized into believing we’d
be missing life if we stop socializing
virtually here’s a thought rather than
complementing social media with a little
bit of life that’s complement life with
a little social media ultimately it’s up
to us to be self-disciplined and how we
communicate and how we live long before
the tidal wave of the inter
that McLuhan warned us of the dangers
and challenges of technology and its
impact on communication cultures
communities and connections imagine what
he’d say now technology keeps advancing
with new technologies McLuhan tells us
comes a new human environment while we
can create a positive new human
environment let’s think about this and I
mean really think about this do we use
technology to be the best version of
ourselves and I don’t mean the filtered
version either at the end of our days at
the end of our lives do you think we’ll
ever look back and say I wish I Facebook
more i wish i snapchatted or tweeted
more i wish i watched more youtube
videos well maybe more YouTube videos
these are pretty fun if we use our app
to become more aware patient and present
I believe life will have so much more to
offer more color more flavor more
texture more depth more warmth at the
beginning of my presentation I asked a
question does technology need a timeout
actually I don’t think so I think it is
we who need a timeout from technology
across intellectual cultural and social
landscapes it’s up to us to use our app
locally and globally thank you
you
on many people’s minds does technology
need a timeout well I will not stand up
here and say negative things about
technology I willingly and happily use
it
I do believe implicitly there’s a time
and a place so I’m going to suggest an
app after all there’s an app for
everything right but before you break
out the smartphone or tablet it’s an
acronym we teachers love our acronyms
it stands for awareness patience and
presence we hear words like awareness
and mindfulness all the time well what
do we do with them I’m proposing an
awareness and a heightened and broadened
perception not only of the world
immediately around us but much further
reaching than that shawn Achor author of
the happiness advantage says quote our
perception of reality changes our
experience of that reality so let me say
that once more our perception of reality
changes our experience of that reality
so you are one of 100 people in this
audience yet how many people could you
describe based on when you first walked
in maybe you were on your phone taking
pictures maybe you checked into this
TEDx event on Facebook observation not
judgment I checked in point is were you
here or were you here so here’s what I’d
like to do I’d like to have everyone
stand up please get the blood moving a
little bit thank you I’d like you to
introduce yourself to someone new maybe
share yourself share a couple things
about yourself that maybe make you
different from anyone else around you as
for me I would probably tell you that I
have a really strange obsession with
Heights hang gliding skydiving
parasailing you name it I love it so
we’ll have 30 seconds on the clock and
I’ll give you a little bit of a heads up
just so we can settle back in again
alright ready go
all right so we can settle back in thank
you well first of all thank you I love
the vibe and the energy in the room that
was wonderful see so hopefully you found
you met someone new perhaps someone whom
you may never have met if we didn’t do
this exercise the funny thing is you’ve
probably passed this person 50 times
before today but now that you’re aware
of them you’re going to see them
everywhere but awareness reaches beyond
a quick introduction it’s more than an
awareness of a physical presence it’s an
emotional intellectual social one as
well about a month ago my friends and I
walked into a restaurant and the hostess
greeted us cheerfully and said welcome
it’s mindful Monday it was like hey what
is that that sounds so fun so she
pointed to a basket and she said well we
invite you but don’t require you to put
your cell phones in there while you’re
eating your meal and then as my friends
and I had our cell phones already in the
basket she went so far as to incentivize
us with a 10% discount on our meal there
was no need she had us at mindful Monday
clearly this is on people’s minds the
next P in our the first P in our app
stands for patients at a time when
technology grants us instant access to
whatever we want in whomever we need we
have been conditioned to be anything but
patient and it can be a veritable
challenge you want to see just how
patient someone is sit beside them while
they’re searching for something on slow
internet speeds
you’ll see how patient they are if time
is valuable so we like money or
commodity then we can waste time we can
save time we can spend time when someone
says impatiently I just don’t have the
time for that let’s unfold that for just
a moment so you mean to tell me that you
just watched four hours straight of
Netflix by you I may or may not mean me
but that we don’t have time to sit
face-to-face over a cup of coffee or go
for a walk we make time for the people
and the things that are important to us
sometimes we have to create that time in
order for that to happen but we have the
power over what we do with our time
don’t we
the second P and our app stands for
presence how do we teach our children
our students ourselves to be more
present this is a gift from a popular TV
show called How I Met Your Mother it’s a
common scene among all demographics now
it’s not just tweens teens 20 or 30
something’s it’s everyone and it is
everywhere interestingly enough about
five six years ago it’s my students who
came to me to say why is it that people
can’t communicate face-to-face anymore
advances in technology would be the easy
answer its technology’s fault but is it
mary meeker analyst for the technology
sector was listed by Forbes as one of
the top 100 most powerful people in the
world from her extensive research on
internet and overall technology trends
she found that we check our cell phones
wait for it 150 times a day on average
maybe that seems unbelievable to you so
let’s break it down the smart phone is a
solution to the problem of having to
carry a phone a camera a computer an
iPod a GPS a watch I mean I’m check my
phone for the time the weather internet
searches social media multiple sites and
apps the email and the list goes on and
on now it doesn’t seem so far-fetched
does it on just one day please keep
track of how many times you access your
cellphone because if our attention is
here 150 plus times a day then our
attention is not here let’s be more
present over 50 years ago intellect
scholar and philosopher Marshall McLuhan
forewarned us that the electric
technology explosion had become an
employee
and he was not talking about internet
pac-man that new media create radical
forces in our lives kind of like radio
and TV Winston
the challenge is in understanding how to
navigate these albeit unpredictable
changing realities amidst these radical
forces in a way that helps us to
participate more fully in all aspects of
our lives relationships friendships
school and work
McLuhan also coined the phrase the
global village in one single character
the hashtag formerly known as the pound
sign
hashtag TEDx on Instagram will all will
yield all of the latest pictures that we
upload the overall concept of the global
village is the world as one single
community brought together by various
lines of communication each medium
through which we communicate truly as
McLuhan posits is the message the medium
is the message so let’s use our app to
become more aware patient and present
across intellectual cultural and social
landscapes so that we can discuss the
transformative nature of technology and
its impact on communication
intellectually we are at the height of
information literacy the Internet has
opened up doors and windows of infinite
possibilities operative word being
infinite there is no reaching the end of
the Internet it’s just not possible that
is exciting and terrifying all at once
do we just skim across the surface of
the information or do we delve deeper
and become experts in our chosen fields
and interests let’s use our app to
become more aware of all of the
information available to us and more
patient in finding the most effective
sources top three Google searches might
yield good results but don’t we want
great results with all this information
and PS we think we are so good at
multitasking
even though current research tells us
that we are still at our best and we are
focusing on one task at a time
dr. Miller neuroscience professor at MIT
tells us that we were doing something
like
looking on the phone or emailing
facebooking texting that we are
competing those tasks are actually
competing for the same exact part of our
brain we think and say we’re
multitasking who were actually just
shifting from one task to the other
let’s hit the pause button for just a
moment and process the information of
hand now culturally we speak so often of
diversity equity and inclusion if I may
there’s one all-encompassing concept
compassion for people in general for if
we admire diversity if we believe in
equity and if we nourish inclusion
doesn’t that fall under the umbrella of
compassion over 40 years ago coca-cola
came up with an ad campaign it was the
metaphor concept of bringing the whole
world together with something as simple
as a soft drink
you might remember it from the series
finale of Mad Men McLuhan’s very concept
of the global village was personified in
this iconic commercial from there they
brought together 100 young people from
around the world and they gathered to
them to a hilltop in Italy what better
place and they put a coca-cola in their
hand and they all sang about the world
in perfect harmony oh hush tag my people
the last line of the song is it’s the
real thing
what the world wants today what is the
real thing only we can answer that
technology has the ability to either
insulate us from or expose us to what’s
going on the world around us on YouTube
there are these videos called if the
world were 100 people while we are 100
people so let’s say we represent the
seven point seven billion plus people in
the world how many of us would have
improved water sixty-seven Internet
eight college education seven how many
of us would make $2 a day
or less 43 you know I could go backstage
right now and find $2 and change
probably on the bottom of my person yet
someone in this world had to work an
entire day for that just knowing
something like this can make us more
aware hopefully more patient with other
cultures and ideally more present and
grateful within our own technology gives
us exactly what we search for we become
what we read and what we watch let’s
read and watch those texts that help us
approach other people more
compassionately so that we can find the
commonalities between us then we can
move away from labels and barriers and
closer to greater kindness and
understanding finally socially clearly
the landscape has changed with
technology and using social media as an
example again I’m not going to say
negative things about it I get to go on
my phone and call my friend from Mumbai
India or my friends from Bologna and
Turin Italy that is remarkable
after all social media is human
interaction however I will say again
there’s a time and a place the language
has changed for example the very
definition of what it means to be or
have a friend has also changed it is up
to us to decide how we use social media
let me ask you this can our friendships
and relationships exist without social
media and virtual communication have we
been so socialized into believing we’d
be missing life if we stop socializing
virtually here’s a thought rather than
complementing social media with a little
bit of life that’s complement life with
a little social media ultimately it’s up
to us to be self-disciplined and how we
communicate and how we live long before
the tidal wave of the inter
that McLuhan warned us of the dangers
and challenges of technology and its
impact on communication cultures
communities and connections imagine what
he’d say now technology keeps advancing
with new technologies McLuhan tells us
comes a new human environment while we
can create a positive new human
environment let’s think about this and I
mean really think about this do we use
technology to be the best version of
ourselves and I don’t mean the filtered
version either at the end of our days at
the end of our lives do you think we’ll
ever look back and say I wish I Facebook
more i wish i snapchatted or tweeted
more i wish i watched more youtube
videos well maybe more YouTube videos
these are pretty fun if we use our app
to become more aware patient and present
I believe life will have so much more to
offer more color more flavor more
texture more depth more warmth at the
beginning of my presentation I asked a
question does technology need a timeout
actually I don’t think so I think it is
we who need a timeout from technology
across intellectual cultural and social
landscapes it’s up to us to use our app
locally and globally thank you
you
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