I chose to listen to Carl Honore’s podcast, “European Vacation 2.0” featuring Vincent Dupin, who created a travel agency that takes your phone away and provides no screens (but plenty of activities) for the duration of their trips. While this is a great idea, I’m not sure how many people would go for it. I’m sure they’d enjoy the experience half way through and greatly appreciate it after, but the initial “no screens for the duration of the trip” is likely to be a bit unsettling.

What are the challenges I see to slow movement? First, I think a lot of the time when people are on social media or just generally on their smart phones, it’s mindless, they don’t realize 30, 40 even 50 minutes has passed since they’ve looked up. This makes getting away from this trend difficult, because for many of us we don’t realize how much time our phones are taking up. Some people don’t see an issue with this, if there’s no problem, what needs fixing? In an attempt to personally spend less time on social media, I set a time limit on my phone, which was honestly less than successful. Once I hit my daily time limit, at first I found myself still on my phone, just on other apps (games, checking email, texting, etc.) but now I’m slightly ashamed to say I’ve just started pressing the ignore button and continued my scrolling. Second, contrary to popular belief, this is not just a teen/millennial issue. I frequently see adults with their heads down, glued to their phones, oblivious to the world around them. This behaviour is being modelled to their children/grandchildren, perpetuating this behaviour. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon to see toddlers with these devices. Some parents use these devices as a means of entertainment/distraction or even as a babysitter for their children. What’s happened to bedtime stories or walks to the park? I’ve also noticed the Facebook population seems to be getting older with older adults trying to stay connected to their friends, extended family, children/grandchildren, etc. Third, this has become such an integral part of our society. It has become our number one way to entertain ourselves. While sitting on the bus for example, very few people talk to the person sitting beside them, rather they are catching up on Netflix or listening to music or mindlessly scrolling. Everyone wants to stay connected to their family members in a different province or see how the Jets are doing back home while on vacation in Florida. We want to be as productive as possible, we want to get answers and information ASAP and we want to make as much money as we can and fast! We want results, this has become the norm and norms take time to change. I feel as though sitting there disconnected, relaxing and being present in the environment is seen as abnormal or even lazy nowadays. This would require a shift in our perception as a society.

What are the opportunities I see in slow movement? First, people would be able to be a lot more present. We have one life to live and our clocks continue to run whether or not we are making good use of our time or spend it staring at a screen (I say this as I sit here typing this blog post). The amount of time we spend looking at screens could be used doing simple or extraordinary things; cleaning our houses, enjoying nature, becoming more educated, being more involved in the community, the possibilities are endless. This is time away from our families, often indoors, in isolation while stagnant. Second, the idea that social media connects us is false, these connections are superficial. Someone may have 600+ followers on social media but realistically how many of those people would attend your funeral, make dinner plans with you or give you a place to stay when in need? In reality, most people probably haven’t spoken to most of their followers face to face, how does this equal connection? Clearing these “connections” from our lives and putting emphasis back on real, everyday people and interactions could have endless positive outcomes; better social skills, better support systems, better sense of community. Another thing about social media is the impact on people’s mental health. Instagram especially is full of “influencers” showing off their “perfect” bodies and lives. They, of course, leave out the bad and average, creating very unrealistic expectations especially for youth that can lead to negative mental health. Additionally, social media has created a new type of bullying that is always present, follows you home and is very public while providing distance and anonymity for the perpetrator: cyberbullying. This can have detrimental and lethal effects. Limiting time on social media could greatly improve mental health while decreasing cyberbullying rates. The possibilities and positive outcomes are endless, if we could just put our screens away – on that note…GOODBYE!

P.S. Here is Carl Honore’s TED Talk about slowing down – enjoy below.