The Joy of Quiet – article from NYTimes.com

i came across this article on my Facebook – a friend shared it. i so completely agree with it.

Information overload has been a much talked about topic, now more so than ever – or at least i seem to read & hear about it more now. i feel very much the overload – all this information out there to be read, absorbed, analysed, criticised, discussed etc… Don’t get me wrong – i’m not a person who dislikes this information age; in fact, i like it very much – i grew up reading tons & loved & still do, the Reader’s Digest, especially the medical articles (why? well, that’s another post); with the internet i get to read even more stuff 🙂

But there are days when i just wanna stay away from the screen; days when i say, “Enough!” & so i do – there will be stretches of a few days or more where i will not read my Facebook & only read absolutely urgent or important emails.

i recently had a friend ask me on Facebook :”madam!!! you on facebook once in 4-5 days ah?? :)”
i remember my early days on Facebook, i was on it 3 or 4 times a day, constantly checking people’s comments, statuses & playing lots of games. It took a while for me to realise how much time i spent doing that; & that i could be doing something i should be doing or have been wanting to do… such as finish that novel which i said i would 😉

i’m not saying Facebook is bad or internet is no good – it is great! It keeps me in touch with family & friends all over the world & it keeps me updated on world happenings, since i gave up reading the papers in a foreign language 9 years ago. So it is a good thing but as with most things, it needs to be done in moderation.

My favourite paragraph from this article:

The central paradox of the machines that have made our lives so much brighter, quicker, longer and healthier is that they cannot teach us how to make the best use of them; the information revolution came without an instruction manual. All the data in the world cannot teach us how to sift through data; images don’t show us how to process images. The only way to do justice to our onscreen lives is by summoning exactly the emotional and moral clarity that can’t be found on any screen.

The Joy of Quiet – NYTimes.com.

So have a read & let me know what you think.

syc