|
|
|
|
|
|
|
People think I'm quaint - because I keep a diary, I compile to-do lists, I consult maps, I have an address book, I take notes. I WRITE THINGS DOWN.
|
|
So I am regarded with thinly-disguised contempt as a fuddy-duddy Luddite with a pen-and-paper fetish.
|
|
But I might have the last laugh after all. There is a growing awareness that our digital enslavement is harming us.
|
|
The ubiquity of social media is manipulating us in ways that would satisfy the most hardened of conspiracy theorists (see our movie recommendation, below)
|
|
And there is growing scientific disquiet about the effects of electromagnetic frequency (EMF) radiation - from your phone and wifi. It is a fact that EMF affects you. The fierce contention is about how it affects you, and what kind of effect it has. Here is one side of the debate. Make up your own mind.
|
|
In short, then.. beware of your digital media, your enabled devices, your LED screens and your faithful phone.... the machines are taking over the world.
|
So our theme this week - loosely - is social media and our addiction to our devices. And a selection of completely different other articles in between. Enjoy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The phenomenon of social media is a lot like The Sorcerer's Apprentice - a morality tale of unintended consequences; a force for good that has been subverted.
|
|
And now there is a movie about it.
|
|
The Social Dilemma is a deeply-flawed semi-documentary with dramatised segments. But it is essential viewing for anyone who owns a smartphone and/or a social media account. As a film, it is both good and bad.
|
|
First the bad: the doccie is too long. It bangs on too much, saying the same thing over and over. The dramatisations are contrived and banal. The brooding soundtrack is intrusive (it's manipulative, which is unnecessary - the content is alarming enough). It is distractingly US-centric, and it over-simplifies some complex social issues.
|
|
However, there are three main points which come through loud and clear:
|
|
* Addiction to social media is not an accidental by-product: it is indeed the business model;
|
|
* The rise of social media is concurrent with the global rise of misinformation, polarisation, depression, suicide and self-harming;
|
|
* 'Global mind-control' is not the purview of Dr Evil or the Illuminati, it has been designed and implemented by a small group of tech engineers in Silicon Valley, who are collectively awed and alarmed by what they have done.
|
|
The most important part of the documentary comes right at the end, where these very same engineers describe how they overcame their own addictions, and how you - as the 'user' - can take back control.
|
|
Make this essential viewing, and then try weaning yourself off Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest....
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Like a boid on a wire: Spring(s) tales to harden the heart
|
|
|
Blixem’s far from Brooklyn and its boids, but here comes this sorry collection of springtime stories...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Town Watch
|
|
Community News - a round-up of stories from community newspapers:
|
|
|
|
Yes, there are mainstream media stories about national events, but the real heartbeat of a country takes place in its cities, towns and villages. In order to highlight the real concerns of ordinary people, The Chronicle brings you a small compendium of 'local' news from around the country.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Addiction to technology is creeping its way to children, with very adverse outcomes in some instances. We are raising sluggish anti-social techno junkies. Children are no longer just children who should be bursting with energy. Instead, they spend hours on end munching snacks while playing on their gadgets. And who should be whipping them into line when the guardians are also slaves to their own gadgets? Children are only following in adults' footsteps.
|
|
|
|
|
|
How much screen time is too much for very small children?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
“I can pick up blockages because the pitch goes out of tune.”
|
|
|
By Melody Emmett - Jason Katz uses singing bowls to restore balance ... An atmosphere of sanctity hovers around Jason Katz before a sound journey. He asks people to take their shoes off before entering the room; a gesture of reverence associated with a holy place or shrine. The experience itself, which begins with a guided meditation, feels holy and …
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
South African company scores in major international renewable energy project
|
|
|
Pretoria-based Etion Create has just been selected as one of the preferred suppliers in the Sofia offshore wind farm project in the United Kingdom, one of the largest in the world.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The pandemic poet who chimes with our times
|
|
|
Fatima Khan explores the genesis of the poem, “We fell asleep in one world and woke in another”,which went viral in the wake of Covid-19.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Should I fix the interest rate on my home loan?
|
|
|
One of the questions I am often asked is: Should I fix the interest rate on my home loan now that interest rates are at historic lows?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Only one in nine people is a natural salesperson. The rest of us hate selling. Because, when it doesn’t work, it feels a lot like rejection. And rejection brings emotional pain. So let’s equip ourselves with better selling tools - especially in the age of COVID-19, when panic is everywhere, times are tough, friends are not few but hiding at home, and no-one needs more emotional pain.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
UMBELE - a Zulu-language business digest
|
|
|
Safrean Langa Khanyile publishes an online Zulu-language business newsletter. Read it here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
How to retrench-proof your finances
|
|
|
In 2019 alone, more than 20 000 South Africans were retrenched and this is set to increase next year. If you have managed to retain your job, it might well be time to consider how you can retrench-proof your finances so that you have a financial cushion if you are retrenched.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Opening the conversation on ‘The Social Dilemma’
|
|
|
Described as a documentary-drama I’d far rather place this Netflix film in a category of its’ own, more accurately described a true-life horror. In our podcast this week, we start the conversation about ‘The Social Dilemma’ by director Jeff Orlowski and ask questions that we should all engage in answering, the main one being, “Should social media platforms be regulated?” …
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Where Words Take Us - Copper
|
|
|
Copper has shaped the human story since the Neolithic Period. It is shaping our lives today. Are we able to sustain its availability tomorrow if we allow the demand to jump with 250% in about 50 years? We have electric vehicles on the up and up. You do the maths.
Photo Credits: Łukasz Klepaczewski (Background Wires) https://pixabay.com/users/disign-304935/
Copper Symbol: Skylnt https://pnghut.com/user/Skylnt/2
|
|
|
|
|
|
Do your dogs run away when they see you with the nail clippers? Do they fidget, get nervous, or even try to bite when you or the vet attempt to clip their nails? Don’t give up - it doesn’t have to be that way. It’s possible to get your dogs to accept and even like having their nails clipped, using a technique called desensitisation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Memory. You can train it. If you remember how
|
|
|
At any age we should train our brains and improve our memory. Here is a warning of where not to go
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Poetic Quality of the Lyrics of ‘The Sound of Silence’ - Written by Paul Simon
|
|
|
This era was indeed characterized by the Woodstock Music Festival in August 1969 and by the anti-war uproar that prevailed in the USA. The basic message in the lyrics is for people to speak out and to stop robot-like acquiescing to what the “powers that be”, governments and United Nations decided. This says it clearly - “Fools” said I, “You do not know, Silence like a cancer grow” “.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Trouble with Technology
|
|
|
If you own a smartphone, it is very likely you are 'addicted' to at least one social media platform. This might be your life.....
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Did you receive this email from a friend? Get your own copy by subscribing here.
|
|
|
|
