The last couple weeks has demonstrated the power of technology to connect and inspire our global community. As millions of people took to the internet via Twitter and Facebook and other social media outlets to share what was happening and lend their support of Haitians, I was struck by how much digital information has become a corner stone of our lives. I am meeting more and more therapists who offer e-counseling via the phone or email and even met (on Twitter, of course) another MFT who sees clients via Skype!
While I am amazed and impressed with the ways in which we can connect to each other virtually, I am also left worrying about our tendency to isolate ourselves in reality. In this technologically advance world, it is easy to stop connecting with people in real life. But it is in real life that true intimacy is formed and nurtured. Only face-to-face can you begin to know the full spectrum of another person’s personality and spirit. I am not minimizing the positive impact of our information age but I am suggesting that it can come between us and the possibilities of real life. This week I am challenging you all to turn off the computers and iPhones and blackberrys and reconnect with the real people in your life.
Read my new column at I Am Modern on this very issue… new column topics are posted weekly!