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…