Always On

It’s nothing new that social and digital technologies lead to people feeling “always on.” The flip side of having access available to you is that it makes you available, right?

But we’re finding that it doesn’t make you more productive – instead, it does the opposite.

Worse, though, we’re finding that the negative results of being always on are more personal, and start even younger.

This breaks my heart.

If you’re a working adult and you want to answer emails at midnight, that’s on you. I think you’re deranged, but you’re a grown-up. Run your life however makes you happy.

(Heh. I typed “ruin” at first instead of “run.”)

But kids can’t chat with their friends without doing hair and makeup so they can always be prepped for their screencap? That bothers me. It just doesn’t seem very childlike. Isn’t puberty uncomfortable enough without being recorded for posterity?

Is the cost of our digital connection that we must all stay camera-ready?