I know too much…
Growing up, I was a bit of a know-it-all.
For clarity, I am not absurdly genius or an individual with a photographic memory. I was, and still am at points, an individual who battles insecurities and finds personal significance in having the right answers, or at least appearing to have the right answers.
Beyond my personal struggles, I actually think our culture knows too much.
Our society has built an infrastructure that allows almost uninhibited access to information. Even further, it is not simply access that we need to chase; it is a flood of information that inundates our daily lives with useless and unnecessary information. At points, this information is in itself damaging to an individual’s psyche, which I believe is promoting the overall lack of mental health and wellbeing in society.
Unnecessary Information
This past NBA season, Trae Young was traded from the Atlanta Hawks to the Washington Wizards. This is NBA news for those who don’t follow.
Don’t worry, this is not about the sports world. It is a personal observation.
In some conversation with a colleague about this trade, we differed on the individual value provided in the long term due to ages. Interestingly, I was able to produce off the top of my head the exact ages of the two individuals being discussed. Neither is a favorite player of mine; honestly, I surprised myself when we validated the ages.
While I do not recall ever searching up the specific ages of these individuals, this has happened more than I might realize. I can recall a specific game from the NFL, where individuals went to college, and even provide facts about random sports families.
What good is this?
Sure it’s a fun party trick, but truly it offers no real value in my day-to-day or in the long view of my life. It is simply unnecessary information.
Some of you reading this can do the same thing for a specific hobby, whether a sport or some other thing. I do think it points to passion and excitement about a topic, but the question I have offered myself recently is what good is it doing? Can I redirect my energy and stir my passions towards something of more value to my own life or the lives around me?
I used to watch hours of football on a Sunday in the fall. For what? So I know the exact outcome of the Cardinals vs Seahawks game? Cool story.
If I am not careful, I will allow myself the unhealthy freedom to indulge in unnecessary information. I will feast on the smorgasbord of fantasy football content, or other material online, simply because I can.
It’s like when I was a college kid going to Golden Corral. Some of you just gagged, but the omelettes and the steaks were solid. Beyond that, it was a feast that no one would stop me on.
I could consume freely, to my own demise.
We do the same with information, without purpose and intentionality. We will consume information and entertainment freely, to our own demise.
Damaging Information
Oh, how I long for the technology of the 90s.
We watch others’ lives on social media and it leaves us feeling insignificant. Or we watch a violent video of a real person dying and we have been so desensitized and arrogant to only comment on the political aspects of it rather than grieving in our soul as we watch a human life end. Or we see a few TikToks on a recent policy or bombing and consider ourselves to be knowledgeable on the subject. Or we see pictures of a family growing and build the story in our mind that those kids know us.
I find it hard to believe that we can give proper weight to a graphic piece of news when it is sandwiched by a cat meme and a reel of deck rebuild part 3.
Even without seeking it out, our algorithms are curated to stir something in us, to make us feel. We are battling a computer system that knows the psychology of our minds better than we do.
The social media algorithm sprinkles dopamine to keep us returning to this fountain of salt water.
And this unsatisfying fountain slowly distorts our view of people.
Too many times, technology has offered access to information or content that was damaging without it being sought. I was 10 or 11 years old the first time that I saw p**n. In high school, I didn’t seek out some of the violent videos I remember. In 2010s and 2020s, I didn’t search for the videos showing brutal deaths of real people.
As an adult now, I hold boundaries that I continuously refine in order to maintain my own personal health. But the rapid growth and changes in technology over the last two decades have me concerned for the health and safety of my children and future generations. I recently listened to a long Shawn Ryan podcast episode detailing some of the current dangers facing adolescents on the internet.
I have heard a few different paraphrases of the idea: when you give your kid the internet, you’re not just giving them access to the world; you’re giving the world access to them.
My Plea
Do a personal technology audit. Evaluate your own use and perspective. And set some boundaries in light of this evaluation. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself:
How much time do I spend consuming content?
What projects or passions could I put my mind and hands to instead of consuming?
Where am I substituting personal interaction with technology?
Am I using technology by default or with intentionality?
What is one small thing I can improve about my use of tech?
Address your use of technology, even in a small way, and watch how it changes your community and personal health. As a result of this audit, choose one practice to put in place this week. My wife prompted something for us recently: 1 week with zero tv. We find ourselves defaulting to a show or movie after the kids go down, and this has cascading effects on our nights and days and even our relationship. I will let you know how it goes!