Technology v. Solitude

After giving a group presentation in different forms or religion and practice, I’ve spent a little more time thinking about meditation and solitude. As I’ve said in my previous post, I was raised Catholic and quickly lost interest once high school came around. Religion was never really something that made me feel better or put me in touch with myself. Often times it was quite the chore to even get out of bed and attend mass. The thing that’s always been important to me is time for myself. Being able to have an hour or two each day where I can relax, day dream, listen to music, and reflect on my day/week really helps me feel grounded. It also helps control the stress a bit too.

While I work pretty hard to make sure I have this time each day, I feel that our society (specifically Gen Y) is having a lot less alone time as a whole. Technology here is what’s to blame. Everyday I walk around campus and everyone is either on their laptops, PDAs, cell phones, texting, or actually interacting with others. Don’t get me wrong because I definitely participate in all of the above while on campus, but with these technologies it’s becoming harder to actually get away and truly be alone when all someone has to do is send you a text or IM. I really enjoy technology and how much easier it makes life. For example, I’m writing this right now away from my apartment on my laptop while simultaneously texting a friend. Technology allows me to keep my friends and family only a few buttons away no matter where I go. But this constant connectivity makes it hard to really be alone. I found an interesting video on Youtube by Dina Rudick and Scott Helman-