Here is a great talk by Joe Kraus on a topic called “SlowTech”. When Joe speaks about technology and the culture surrounding it, it’s worth listening. He is a Partner at Google Ventures and his primary area of focus is mobile, gaming and local services. Rather than a chest-beating evangelical endorsement of connectivity, Joe’s talk takes a step back and looks at how our increasing connectivity may be threatening our creativity. His talk covers three key topics:
1. We are creating and encouraging a culture of distraction where we are increasingly disconnected from the people and events around us and increasingly unable to engage in long-form thinking. People now feel anxious when their brains are unstimulated.
2. We are losing some very important things by doing this. We threaten the key ingredients behind creativity and insight by filling up all our “gap” time with stimulation. And we inhibit real human connection when we prioritize our phones over our the people right in front of us.
3. What can we do about it? Is this path inevitable or can balance be restored?
You can watch the video above or read the transcript here.
