I was catching up on my RSS feeds and ran across a presentation in Theresa Neil’s UX Lx Wrap Up. Basically, the author cited some data that said in 1985 folks were more connected to people than they are now, despite the fact that one of the major drivers of Web today is to connect people with others. My hypothesis? Looking at my own social media connections, I have more data to process, more “friends” to keep up with, more distractions, and less time for meaningful connection if I let myself get carried away by it all. I think the “Information Superhighway” has just given us too much to process, and if we’ve caught on to the reality of our limited resources, we should humbly acknowledge our inability to do it all and do something crazy: Be selective!
Interesting that alhough we like to use technology to solve problems (e.g., the classic “washing machines are supposed to allow more time with family than when we didn’t have them” approach) but so often fall short of the desired outcome (e.g., who with a washing machine – or any other technical device or gadget – doesn’t complain that the don’t have enough time?!).
Hmm… Food for thought.
Sheree Black 