This week Madmen, a show about the past ended and it got me thinking about the future. The year is 2055 and it is coming up on the last season of Techmen. Techmen is a remake of the Madmen series. Similar to the original Madmen, the AMC production focuses on the fast paced world of advertising and marketing spanning from 2008-2015. The main character, Dylan, works as the chief creative officer at a top digital firm. Nobody on the show smokes. Their cigarette is their smart phone. Everyone is constantly texting, talking and tweeting. The show is a great hit and the audience is amazed by how much everyone is tied to their technology. “How stupid are they,” a young 18 year-old viewer says to himself. His Dad looks on and states, “ it was the normal thing to do, they didn’t know any better”. The young man forgets that it wasn’t until 2025 that research convincingly showed the link between cell phone use and brain cancer. Apple worked hard to suppress this information until it acquiesced and leveraged the research to sell more watches. Additional research emerged in 2025 showing that the overuse of technology was linked to short term memory deficits, and was found to predispose people to Alzheimer’s disease.

Now in 2055 using technology is banned in many public places and parks. To a small group of people, mostly older adolescents, smart phone use is viewed as alternative and edgy. Overall is looked upon with disdain and admonishment.

Maybe the future will have less, rather than more technology? I doubt it. So how do we live mindfully in a world were we are tied to our laptops and devices much like a cigarette.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Tech Breaks: Create zones of time where you do not have your devices on you. You may lose some digital friends if you take a tech hiatus, but your real friends will not abandon you.

 

2. Mindful Tech Use: When you use technology try to do so mindfully. If you are emailing just email. If you are texting just text. Be aware of your desire to text and walk and just sit down quietly and focus on one task at a time. You will feel better as will the people walking near you.

 

3. Self -Validate: Improve your capacity to be alone. Often one’s connection to technology is related to anxiety about being alone. We text, email or tweet to connect and be validated. Developing an understanding that others in your life still exist even if you are not interacting with them can help you manage being alone. Feeling more positive about yourself can also help you self soothe rather than looking for the external like or text reassuring your self-importance.