I have a little secret to share. This past weekend, I spent the better part of two days watching a whole season of a reality show where attractive people go to an island and make very poor relationship choices. That’s right – I watched seventeen episodes. One after the other. When I finally snapped out of this stupor, I literally could not account for the time spent or understand why my room felt so bright…
The search began with a dinner observation that my wife and I shouldn’t have paid any special attention to. An expensive restaurant at which we were celebrating our anniversary was inhabited by another couple that looked like they were about our age and had in front of them sumptuous meals that seemed more like pictures on Instagram than actual food. Captivating wines and deliciously smelling meals were served, but the couple only spoke to one…
I was attending my daughter’s ballet recital and the breaking point had reached. While being her ‘first fan’ sitting in the third row, my brain went on autopilot to work emails and twitter, even the score of a random basketball game I didn’t bother caring about. It gets worse. My daughter had a solo to perform, something she had practiced for rigorously and come the moment, I had my phone on record and was checking…
As I stared blankly at the black rectangle at the bottom of the screen during my ***fourth video call of the day*** last Tuesday, a horrific discovery was lurking around the corner. I became horrified when I realized I was hyperfocused not on the slides or the colleagues talking over each other about scratching their *resource allocation* itch, but rather on my own digital reflection. Which poked out lazily in the bottom corner. At the…
I experienced it once more this morning. The uncanny buzz while waiting in the queue for my coffee. As my hand moved to check my phone, it dawned on me there had been no buzz at all, and so without thinking I tried to unlock my phone. It was not until I had removed the device from my pocket that I realized my brain had fabricated this whole experience. Phantom vibration syndrome is an example…
It’s 1:17 AM as I type these words. This is my third consecutive night working in a row, and I have a 7:30 meeting tomorrow morning. My body aches with fatigue, and my digital device has turned into the proverbial ball and chain. Yet here I am, scrolling, tapping, and consuming digital content with the focused dedication of someone who doesn’t have responsibilities in six hours. This isn’t insomnia. The Chinese call it “bàofùxìng áoyè”…
I understood I was battling a problem when my chiropractor recognized me by my X-rays alone. “Ah, Mr. Thornfield,” he said, looking at the film showing the quite recognizable curve of my upper spine. “Still keeping your phone at navel height, are you?” I have undoubtedly been using my phone for the following ten years with my neck being bent at a structurally unpleasant ergonomic phone position that can only be described as thumbs whizzing…
Last Tuesday at 2:17 PM, I had what I can only describe as a spiritual epiphany. “Just one minute before that participant unmuted, I became self-aware while staring at my own reflection. I witnessed my soul completely disengage from my psychical self.” How I got to those thoughts was because I could finally comprehend the sheer depth of everything as a single piece of information being discussed in the 45 minute long virtual quarterly meeting…