Ironically, I read this while staring at a 'glowing rectangle'.
Whether at work or home or play, we seem to be spending an enormous amount of time staring at our computer screens. We depend on them for almost everything.
At work I stare at two 17" screens everyday. My only breaks are for meetings where I sit in a conference room with a projected image on a full wall length screen viewing PowerPoint slide presentations.
After 12 hours of this I venture home to watch a little boob-tube and yes turn on my Mac to read my latest emails.
This article I read this morning reports a study that says 90% of our waking hours are spent staring at 'Glowing Rectangles'.
I had a scary moment of realization this weekend. We were in our family room and three of us had our Mac's open and the TV was on.
I remember thinking to my self... this is scary.
Luckily, the wife had a few activities for us. We paid a visit to an opening art exhibition at a local art walk. That was cool.
Then on Sunday (after mass) we visited an art exhibition of a priest friend of ours who had a showing down in Laguna Beach.
Wheeewww, saved. But still a startling reality.
Too much time behind the 'glowing rectangle' screen.
Take a break and smell the roses once in a while.
Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, blogging (Cellphones too) all good things. I love conversing with my friends and family, well across the globe literally.
However, we have to remember while we can text internationally, chances are there is someone close by (sometimes sitting right next to you) that could use our attention and warm touch.
And that touch is not the same thing as 'feeling the warmth of another's sincerity by touching the 'glowing screen'. It doesn't work that way. ;-)
Imagine if we spent even a quarter of the time in Adoration in front of our Lord as we do in front of our screens?
Balance is everything...
Report: 90% of Waking Hours Spent Staring At Glowing Rectangles
PALO ALTO, CA—A new report published this week by researchers at Stanford University suggests that Americans spend the vast majority of each day staring at, interacting with, and deriving satisfaction from glowing rectangles.
"From the moment they wake up in the morning, to the moment they lose consciousness at night, Americans are in near-constant visual contact with bright, pulsating rectangles," said Dr. Richard Menken, lead author of the report, looking up briefly from the gleaming quadrangle that sits on his desk. "In fact, it's hard to find a single minute during which the American public is not completely captivated by these shining…these dazzling…."
"I'm sorry," Menken continued. "What were we discussing again?"
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