We live in The Age of Distraction. The obscene amount of irrelevant information that we have access to in any given day is more than any other civilization before. It is so much information that our brains often don’t know how to process it well and we lack the self control required to limit this input into our lives.
We’ve all been at home in the presence of our wife or children, while really being in some other world playing games or reading the news or texting friends. The most important people in our lives are sitting in front of us and we are living somewhere else. The initial impact doesn’t seem that significant, but the opportunity cost is huge. The moments of my life where I could have invested in my children or had a life changing conversation with my wife are replaced with a fantasy world of games or with secondary relationships and conversations.
Does it matter?
I suppose it depends what you love. If you love yourself more than your family, then I suppose it makes sense to indulge in your own self interest. If you want to love your family, then it’s time to make a change.
Steps to change
The first steps are always the most difficult. We’ve compiled a list of things you could do. Pick one of these items from the list to implement or come up with your own. If you don’t think you can go cold turkey, then start small.
- Sell or donate your TV to someone
- Rearrange your house to make something besides the TV the center place
- Turn off all notifications on your phone
- Leave your cell phone in your room one day per week
- Do not bring cell phones to the dinner table
- Play a board game or go to the park instead of watching TV
- Replace your smart phone with a dumb phone
- Take 15 minutes a day to sit in silence alone with no technology, no radio, and no one else.
