It may not seem like it in this 24/7 information age where we are bombarded with messages / emails / pings / dings and rings, but remember this….
You CAN choose WHAT you respond to
You CAN choose WHEN you respond
and
You CAN choose HOW you respond to the communications you receive
It seems to me that technology has set up a Pavlovian response in all of us to answer / click / scroll the minute those notifications beam out from our screens.
We’re being conditioned to be at the beck and call of anyone and everyone who has access to contact us through our social media profiles, websites and emails.
We’re being conditioned to expect (and to provide) an instantaneous response every time someone gets in touch.
We’re being conditioned to respond before we take PAUSE to THINK, so that the meaning of our communication is being skewed and misinterpreted.
We’re being conditioned to believe that we’re entitled to a response the nano second that our messages are being sent out into the ether.
And we need to STOP.
We need to PAUSE.
We need to CONNECT and INTERACT.
We need to look UP NOT DOWN.
To make EYE CONTACT again.
We need to realise that we have LIVES that exist outside of the technology that enables us to work faster, but not always smarter.
We need to exercise our right to CHOOSE what, when and how we communicate so that we bring back meaning and feeling and kindness into how we express ourselves online.