One of our faculty members shared with me a recent entry in aNew York Times“Bits” blog entitled “Resolved in 2012: To Enjoy the View Without Help From an iPhone.” In the piece writer Nick Bilton tells of his new year’s resolution to put technology away for at least 30 minutes a day so that he has some time for daydreaming, which, it turns out, has an important neurological function. Bilton tells of seeing a spectacular Pacific Ocean sunset and then spending ten minutes fooling with his iPhone in order to capture the perfect picture of it. Meanwhile, the sun sets and he misses the actual experience. He asks himself, “What’s wrong with me? I can’t seem to enjoy anything without trying to digitally capture it or spew it onto the Internet.”
Bilton comes to realize that his habit of reaching for his iPhone as an intermediary works contrary to some of our neurological needs. While he worried that if he didn’t take a photo of the sunset that he’d forget it, he learns from an Oxford professor that “Even with something as beautiful as a sunset, forgetting is really important as a mental hygiene… That things in our past become rosier is incredibly important. As we forget, our memories abstract and our brain goes through a cleansing process.”
In addition, just letting our brains wander -- daydreaming -- fulfills an important cognitive function. Jonah Lehrer, author ofImagine: How Creativity Works, says that in order to figure out complex issues, our brains need to have periods of inattention, which activates the “default network,” “which allows our brain to solve problems that most likely can’t be solved during a game of Angry Birds.” Bilton also cites U. of C. Santa Barbara professor Jonathan Schooler who maintains that “daydreaming and boredom seem to be a source for incubation and creative discovery in the brain and is part of the creative incubation process.”
Technology use, like any activity, requires balance and prudence. Probably most of us who live in 2012 could use to spend less time with technology and more time both with actual experience and daydreaming. Not a bad basis for a new year’s resolution!