At the end of our lives, all we have is our attention and our time. What will be time well spent for ours? – Tristan Harris
Everything happened inadvertently in front of our eyes. Suddenly we had the possibility of connecting with people we had not seen in years. We could see each other, know what they were doing, share our stories through photos, videos, texts. What could be wrong about it?
I am still surprised to think that everything beautiful about social media has been transformed into danger, distrust, bullying, lack of ethics and a waste of our time … and everything has happened so quickly and so subtly that we did not even realize what was happening.
Harris’s talk is a wakeup call to become aware of what are we wasting our time, our attention and our effort on. On worthwhile things?
In the last weeks, we have reflected on the dangers that have arisen along with the evolution of technology and especially social media. Harris argues that we must recognize the fact that we are being manipulated and persuaded; that new models of responsibility and transparency must be created for those who are doing that (or will do); and, finally, that we design a new renaissance.
This last argument drew my attention the most. The “renaissance” design that Harris speaks of would help us focus our attention on things that are worth the effort. If we don’t refocus on transcendentally important issues, in whose hands will we be?
Collectively, we must redefine our priorities and act accordingly. Problems such as poverty, hunger, quality of education, gender equity, climate action, peace, and justice, etc. will not fix themselves. They also require our attention and more importantly, our actions.
How should we start? Please, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!