A Tech Assessment for the New Year

My patient, a retired teacher, looked embarrassed as he said it.

“I don’t have a smart phone. I don’t have a computer.”

I had to check the readings – somehow, despite this lack of technology in his life, his heart rate was perfectly normal. His oxygen reading was also in the normal range. Skin color looked perfectly healthy. He even wore a smile on his face.

Quickly, trying to keep him from noticing, my brain went into full speed investigation mode.

"How is this medically possible? A human being who is meeting all criteria for being alive, yet he is not connected to technology? Worse yet, he doesn’t seem to carry guilt over this lack of technology, nor does he seem concerned about what he is missing. Should I consult psychiatry? Is this worthy of a case report for the medical literature?"

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One of the gifts we get with each new year is the chance to reassess what we want to invest our time and energy into doing.

This includes technology, and more specifically the screens that humans are more and more likely to be staring at in the check-out line, as they drive, and in any moment of pause in their day. (My mom shared how in her choir practice yesterday, it was odd to her that people didn’t connect with each other during the breaks but rather pulled out their 2x4 inch screens to “connect”.)

A list of questions that I encourage all of us to sit with. You might even write them down on paper using ink.

How much of my life energy do I want consumed by and lived through screens (phone, computer, tablet, TV, etc.) in 2023?

What is the healthy amount of consumption and living that I want to do through these devices this year? (Is there someone in my life that I feel models this healthy level of consumption? What is their strategy?)

What is being squeezed out of my life by these devices?

Am I missing things on a moment-to-moment and day-to-day basis because of these devices? If so, what am I missing?

If my phone was at 0% battery but I was at 100% at this moment, would I be content?

If I had horrible food but a phone in my hand, would I consider the meal a success?

Am I more connected or disconnected to myself and those around me because of technology?

For those with children, how is my house doing at dealing with the above questions, in theory and in practice?

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Assuming we identify places and ways we want to invest differently than the course we are currently on related to our screens and devices, it is a great chance to make some changes for your year ahead. 

Put a basket in your house entrance where phones are to be placed as you walk in. 

Take a day a week that is screen free for the entire family. 

Work actively to take control of your technology (starting with the phones we call "smart") as opposed to the other way around.

You might even channel my patient’s smile and contentment with his low-tech life. Again, if you can trust me on this as a medical professional, he seemed to be doing quite fine.