In an era of constant media consumption, Evan Nichols suggests finding a balance between screen time and engagement with the real world.
When I was a kid, it was a great bit of luck to discover your airplane was showing an in-flight movie! The hours flew by and before you knew it, the credits rolled, you blinked your eyes and arrived!
Later, screens appeared on the back of every seat, not to mention laptops, tablets, phones, and watches. We began watching something in every room of our homes, at the bus stop, in the back of cars, in class, everywhere, any time, all at once. No longer did we need to stare out the window on a road trip and ponder the contours of the landscape or perhaps our purpose here on Earth.
We are living the in-flight movie life!
The difference, of course, is that we no longer watch things just to get through a long flight. Now we watch to get through our lives. We skip the intervals, edit out boredom and dodge awkward encounters, all of which are essential to innovation and community. Why develop the ability to compromise when you can retreat to your own room and watch what you want, when you want it?