Having read the post by Cindi Leive on her full week of digital detox from email and social media and its implications on different aspects of her life, I came to think about the pros and cons of screen dependency in the big picture of our lives nowadays.
This topic is important and significant to humanity all over the world. I have seen Masai people surfing the web on their smartphones while I was on a safari trip in Tanzania, and very religious women checking their phones while celebrating a Jewish wedding in Israel. This activity has become the common denominator of humanity everywhere -- and there is no going back. The issue is finding the balance in our personal life so we can relax and relate to our loved ones in reality, while looking into their eyes, without this feeling that we're missing out on something that's happening on our smartphones.
Interesting enough, without manufacturing anything tangible, the companies (Facebook,Yahoo, Google, Twitter, etc.) that are the platform for all sorts of our digital communication are thriving and creating immense changes in our global society. For example, the role of social media in organizing millions of people to demonstrate in Tahrir square in Cairo, Egypt during January 2011, is undeniable. Social media enables very big groups of people to organize in unity and demand rights in an effective way, and it seems governments have no choice but to listen and acknowledge them. It can take seconds to let millions know what is going on and call them to action. I believe that this is the shift in mass consciousness that started in the 21st century. This transparency of information and mass communication will also lead to more rights and equality for certain groups. Above all, it will allow people everywhere to feel more free and empowered.
We may conclude that while in our personal life, it is important to digitally detox sometimes and go back to the way we used to communicate and relate to each other, on our social platforms, we should embrace and encourage this free flow of information and communication that has the potential to put all humanity on the same page every minute.