Paul Levy - Digital Inferno: Using Technology Consciously in Your Life and Work, 101 Ways to Survive and Thrive in a Hyperconnected World

PAUL LEVY is a writer, facilitator and founder of digital publication FringeReview. He is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Research in Innovation Management (CENTRIM) at the University of Brighton in the UK, and co-author of several books on innovation, technology and change, including E:Quality and Technosophy. Paul was Head of Interaction at the Digital Workplace Group and has worked with the digital realm for over thirty years, using technology in the fields of business training and organizational theatre. He lives with his family in Brighton, England.

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR THE DIGITAL INFERNO:

This book is visionary and practical and both are needed at this time as the digital inferno spreads, setting fire to more and more elements of daily life. Tom Bourner, Emeritus Professor of Personal and Professional Development, University of Brighton, co-author of Workshops That Work

An exciting book, full of hope for the future. By applying the concept of mindfulness to digital interactions, Paul Levy shows how we can get the most out of technology without losing touch with our essential humanity. Great stuff thoughtful, insightful and very timely. Sue Palmer, author of Toxic Childhood

An insightful guide for those seeking to consciously navigate the noise and confusion of the digital age. Daniel T. Jones, author of The Machine That Changed The World and founder of the Lean Enterprise Academy

A fascinating and thought-provoking survey of our digital times. Cliff McNish, author of The Doomspell Trilogy

Our generation is gradually noticing the subtle effects of digital media in our lives. There are no clear answers as the effects are generative and emergent but it is useful to be mindful of the path we are creating. Paul Levy's book is an eye opener. It is written with precision and full of insights on this ongoing interplay between people and technology. It is a great book for anyone keen to regain control of their relationship with gadgets and digital media in general Professor John Baptista, Associate Professor of Information Systems, University of Warwick

A fascinating, moving and practical dance of content exploring what awfully is and what awe fully might be as human civilization embraces digital virtuality. Brilliantly conceived and written. Angus Jenkinson, author of From Stress to Serenity, Chief Organising Officer of the Civil Society Forum

DIGITAL INFERNO

USING TECHNOLOGY CONSCIOUSLY IN YOUR LIFE AND WORK

101 WAYS TO SURVIVE AND THRIVE IN A HYPERCONNECTED WORLD

PAUL LEVY

CLAIRVIEW

Published in Great Britain in 2014 by:
Clairview Books,
Russet, Sandy Lane,
West Hoathly,
W. Sussex RH18 5ES

E-mail:

www.clairviewbooks.com

Paul Levy 2014

All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrical, chemical, mechanical, optical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Inquiries should be addressed to the Publishers

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Print book ISBN 978 1 905570 74 4
Ebook ISBN 978 1 905570 65 2

Cover by Morgan Creative featuring an image Sergey Nivens

To Sylvia, Cyril, Didi, Roo, Catty and Honey

Contents

Acknowledgements

Id like to express thanks to Sevak Gulbekian and Peter Stephenson for their priceless guidance and editorial genius in helping this book to emerge out of the digital realm, into the form of a manuscript and finally a book. Thanks to the creative souls at Pavilion Gardens Caf, to David Knowles, Tom Bourner, Michael Parker and Ian Powell for their listening, and their willingness not to collude. Thanks to Graham Precey for breakfasts without purpose. Thanks to Demelza Craze and Sylvia Levy for having the patience to read and re-read. And thanks to Ian Postre, an inspirer of this journey.

Introduction

It would be easy to write a book warning of the dangers of mobile technology. It would condemn the negative effects on the well-being and health of people and communities. There is, in fact, a case for condemning the addictive nature of the internet and there are hundreds of studies of the negative effects of the digital realm. If I were on a mission to have it all switched off, then I would present a one-sided case. I am not going to do that. The digital world is here. Its waves are running through your living room and through your head. It is in your pocket, it's everywhere. However, I believe we are here to meet it and my starting point is that we should meet it with self-awareness, hold our own in the face of it and not give ourselves over to it. This is what I mean by staying awake in the digital realm, which is what this book is mostly about.

Im 47 years old, and here are my digital credentials. I was Head of Interaction at the Digital Workplace Group and the Intranet Benchmarking Forum for six years. Ive been a senior researcher at the Centre for Research in Innovation Management at the University of Brighton for over 20 years. I have a leading edge smartphone, three tablets and four laptop computers. I also have a paper notebook in my bag and a nice pen. Im a trained social scientist and my interests include communication, spirituality, theatre, creativity and personal development. I am an open-minded sceptic. I have over 10,000 Twitter followers, 900 friends on Facebook, and over 1000 contacts on LinkedIn. My blog was visited over 30,000 times last year and my various websites garnered over 150,000 unique visitors. Ive made films, worked with animators and developed new ways of holding virtual conference meetings. This book is a harvest of some of that experience.

The short history of the digital realm has been one of constant flux and powerful forces blowing in from who knows where. It brings with it a shift in consciousness and new possibilities, as all new frontiers do. Is it a stepping stone towards creating heaven on earth? Is it a realm in which dreams will soon become reality? That is up to us. One thing is certain, it is flaring upwards and outwards like an inferno. Im excited and inspired by it, and scared and fascinated by it. Whatever we think or feel about it, we must meet it if we are to shape it to our ends. To only demonize it, as some do, would be to ignore its already firm embrace.

This book will be more or less meaningful depending on how you want to relate to the digital realm. If we were all together in a room, each person might show his or her attitude to it by standing somewhere along a line. One end of this line would represent having nothing to do with the digital realm; a person standing there will think that it is anti-human and that it seduces people into fake experience and addiction. The other end of the line would represent diving blindly into digital experience. Between those extremes is the more complex position of welcoming a new technology while being armed with an understanding of its challenges and limitations.

That middle position seems the hardest to sustain because the digital realm, given the way it is designed and marketed, offers a better experience if you are always on. Constant system updates and feedback, automated as well as human, demand that you do something to stay in touch and on top of it. Ive not met that many people in the last 20 years who are able to sustain the middle position. A person at the middle often slides towards becoming hooked. He, or she, might begin a digital session intending to have just a couple of shots only to stagger out, stupefied, after spending hours having just one more for the road, aimlessly following one more link. I call this