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Being connected is leading to huge disconnect

According to a recent Toronto Sun story, we’re hooked on our cellphones and panic when we’re out of reach. A recent U.K. study, lost or dead cells cause major anxiety for 58% of men and 48% of women, while just turning off their mobiles brings on stress for 9%.

Here in Canada, we’re stuck on speed dial, too: There are 20.1 million cellphone subscribers in Canada and 62% of all Canadians own a cellphone, reports Marc Choma, of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association.

Plus we send 45.4 million text messages per day — 4.1 billion in first three months this year!

We’ve got a no-phone phobia, and we can’t turn off, according to Carl Honore, “This is a global affliction now. Wherever you go, people are liable to panic if their phone runs out of juice or they are temporarily off line. Just look at how as soon as a plane lands, everyone switches on their phone to check for messages.”

There is an adrenalin buzz that comes from being plugged in all the time: “It’s like a drug and we become junkies” says Honore, an international spokesman on slowing down in our speed-obsessed world. “Take it away and we panic and start suffering from withdrawal symptoms.”

According to Honore, author of In Praise of Slow (Vintage Canada), we live in a world of limitless information and constant access to other people and we just don’t know when to stop. “Just as we keep on eating even after our bodies have had enough food, we keep on texting, surfing and ‘wilfing’ (browsing) long after our minds have reached a frenzy of stimulation and distraction.”

There is a cultural taboo against the idea of being disconnected, says Honore, adding that people get angry if they can’t reach you instantly.

For many, switching off during holidays is a big stressor and that means something is seriously wrong. “It means we’ve lost the art of leisure, and we’ve lost lots of other things, too.”

We must learn to connect less and have a more balanced relationship with all these high-tech gadgets, or we put ourselves at risk for a nasty emotional and physical burnout, he adds.

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