[WORDS By: Sadiq Ali]

We hear the older generation say all the time, things like “the younger generation doesn’t care” or “these kids today________(insert derisive negative here)” or one of my favorites, “when we were growing up…..”; or many others that point to alternate meanings that equate to a lack of drive, passion, or even intelligence. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The truth is the generation today does not know a world without cloud computing, the internet or iPhones, and they have no interest in nostalgic musings about such a place. I’d actually have to agree. They have more information at their fingertips on an afternoon than, as some noted technology experts have been quoted as saying, all the content created in the history of language prior to about 2005. This means the pool of knowledge that today’s youth can pull from to help form opinions and consequently shape their vantage points is vast, deep and growing by the minute. Someone who has read only 5 books and then is asked to write their own, will undoubtedly create a composite work of those other five books. It is simply the way our brains work. However, if the same person reads 500 books, the laws of mathematics and probabilities dictate the new work will be virtually unrecognizable to the reader as the previous 500 pieces of those other works will have been combined, recombined and then reconnected in new and beautiful ways. This is how I view the youth today. Only again, some experts say they have access to the equivalent of probably 500,000 books and are asked to construct a single volume. The older generation has no clue what the subsequent work is, and in some cases, don’t even know how to open it!

How do we reconcile this disconnect of communication, output, generations? I’d start by saying that the issue is not that there is too much information available, because there isn’t. And if anyone believes that now, today, in 2014, just wait because in about 5 years there will be approximately double or triple that, and then in another 2 years double or triple that. Instead, it is my opinion we simply need to suggest, instruct in younger children, then model moments of silence. I submit the younger generation just simply needs to reflect a bit more. Then things could become more clear to them, and thus more clear to world around them. This would be the time to reconnect to ourselves.

Research has shown that kids high school aged and younger spend an average of 7 hours plugged in, online or playing video games or watching TV — DAILY. That is an astounding and scary number to consider. My suggestion is two fold. One for those just starting out with the idea, and one for true revolutionaries! The first suggestion is too simply institute a no technology rule in your house or for yourself for at least 1-2 hours daily. Simply turn the phone off, close the laptop and turn off the TV. Then grab a book, a pen and paper, your journal or any of your other favorite non-technology related activity and dive in. If you exercise or attend a gym – this time counts too, just leave the music off during your “Unplugged Time” and lose yourself in your own thoughts. Thoughts that can take you to your to do list, your plans and goals for the future, any pending issues or problems to be solved, and more. Just unplug!

The second part of the movement would be to more committedly go for the full 24 hour sabbatical weekly or once every two weeks. I know that this can be hard for busy students, professionals, etc., but the benefits are so serious. So here are a couple alternatives:

A) go for a full 8 hour work or school day, and simply concentrate, without your phone, or computer, but mostly without the smartphone, or

B) go for the full 24 hours on a weekend day for you to spend time with family or reading or writing or knocking out a home project or some organizational thing you’ve been meaning to get to.

Technology is our friend and I love it like the next person, but sometimes you need to unplug to see things more clearly.