Right now we live in a digital world. There is no way to avoid it. Even if we never go on social media, we all use the Internet. And I'm not knocking it – the Internet is a wonderful thing. It offers so much in the way of communication, knowledge-sharing and connection. But this digital world in which we swim on a daily basis (for most of us) is not private. There are many making a tidy business out of hoovering up our data.
You may well think – so what? Who cares about little old me? My few bits of data in the ocean of the Internet don't really matter. Well I guess that's true. But whatever happened to having a private life? Don't you think that you deserve it? It's getting harder to have. You use Spotify for your music; you chat to friends on Whats App; you plan events and outings on Facebook; you publish blogs (um... like this one) on the web; you make recordings of your life and publish photos on Instagram... and so on. And now (well, for some time really) Google want to give us the whole package with Google Home, a speaker that acts as an assistant to help you plan your day and hook up your TV, radio, music and anything you'd like to search for on the Internet (so neatly netting ALL your data in one scoop) Thanks Google! There is also Amazon Echo that does much the same thing. Recently I went in to a local hi-fi chain and tried to by a CD player and ALL of them came with the 'Google Home' app as a 'free extra'. No thank you.
But it is still possible to have a private life. You just unplug yourself. (And use cash in supermarkets.) You have the choice – at the moment, at least. When I went up to Hanmer for a retreat, I discovered my cabin didn't have wi-fi – shock, horror!! But actually... it was marvellous. All emails had to wait. No social media posts (for me to make or read)... just space... and time... and privacy. So one morning I woke before dawn and walked up Conical Hill through the forest. And I thought to myself "No one in the world knows I am here – but I do". And that's all that matters. Being here, now, just me. Later I listened to some music on a CD player and watched a DVD. I won't tell you what, cos it's private!
You may well think – so what? Who cares about little old me? My few bits of data in the ocean of the Internet don't really matter. Well I guess that's true. But whatever happened to having a private life? Don't you think that you deserve it? It's getting harder to have. You use Spotify for your music; you chat to friends on Whats App; you plan events and outings on Facebook; you publish blogs (um... like this one) on the web; you make recordings of your life and publish photos on Instagram... and so on. And now (well, for some time really) Google want to give us the whole package with Google Home, a speaker that acts as an assistant to help you plan your day and hook up your TV, radio, music and anything you'd like to search for on the Internet (so neatly netting ALL your data in one scoop) Thanks Google! There is also Amazon Echo that does much the same thing. Recently I went in to a local hi-fi chain and tried to by a CD player and ALL of them came with the 'Google Home' app as a 'free extra'. No thank you.
But it is still possible to have a private life. You just unplug yourself. (And use cash in supermarkets.) You have the choice – at the moment, at least. When I went up to Hanmer for a retreat, I discovered my cabin didn't have wi-fi – shock, horror!! But actually... it was marvellous. All emails had to wait. No social media posts (for me to make or read)... just space... and time... and privacy. So one morning I woke before dawn and walked up Conical Hill through the forest. And I thought to myself "No one in the world knows I am here – but I do". And that's all that matters. Being here, now, just me. Later I listened to some music on a CD player and watched a DVD. I won't tell you what, cos it's private!
A walk in the forest fills me up and makes me feel better than any amount of web surfing. I ditch the digital 'noise' in my head for the sweet sound of rustling trees and birdsong. There is more wisdom to be found in a forest than in the whole of the Internet. And there is no one 'listening in' either.
Be free. Be you. Unplug as often as you can.
Namaste.
Be free. Be you. Unplug as often as you can.
Namaste.
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