The pervasiveness of technology is undeniable.  It is also not going to go away.

So… how does one respond?

I would suggest with balance and with boundaries.

Recently I watched this video by David White from Oxford where he explores the idea of being either a resident of or a visitor to the digital world and found his ideas very helpful.  I particularly liked the way he distinguished between our professional and personal identities.  Like him, I am comfortable living part of my professional life in the digital world (hence my use of Twitter and my entry into the world of blogging).  My personal life I do not wish to have on-line and I am intentional about limiting the personal traces I leave.

But I struggle for balance.

The on-line world can be addictive and is leading many to live in a very unhealthy way (particularly with reference to the health of their brains).  The self-imposed limitation of only allowing my professional self to live partially online it still insufficient.

Derek Keenan’s response to a recent CBC documentary on the pervasiveness of digital technology in our society was very helpful to me.  I appreciate his own facing up “…to the fact that I have been far too involved in the always on digital culture…” and that his response is NOT to forget “…the benefits that technology brings us, but I am creating a place on the shelf for it; as technology is not the ‘place’ we think it is, and the place to be, all the time.”