I never expected the process of writing a book to be so transformative. I knew it would be a challenge, but I didn’t realise the depth of self-examination and discovery that was going to take place. Wired Influence, lifts the veil of how we’re under the influence of technology, the consequences if left unchecked and how to improve your relationship to it for a more balanced, productive and focused approach to achieve the matter most.
It has only been since beginning to write this book, I’ve truly uncovered the extent I was under the influence. Does it sound like I’m positioning technology like it’s some sort of addictive drug? Well, in the Wired Influence due to be published later this year, I will show you how it does. While we don’t consume technologies like drugs or alcohol, it can trigger the release and suppression of chemicals in the brain that can have similar effects. Investigating the academic studies, industries reports and other sources we explore how the frequency of our use, our increasing fears to be without access and how the products are designed to use you more than you use it.
As a Millennial, my relationship with technology is complicated, to say the least. We are the experimental group of children born into a world before to mainstream adoption of the technologies used today. Examining the years of my relationship with technology as a Millennial is blurry. I was taught from school age that if you weren’t keeping up with, and using, technology, then your life prospects weren’t good. If you weren’t continuously upskilling your digital skills and knowledge, you would be left behind. This competitive edge only grew in my professional life and ending up in technology now, is by no means a coincidence. While the need for us to adapt isn’t inherently where the problem lies, it is that the technology industries, their business models and tools have advanced much faster than any one person could truly understand. Don’t get me wrong, I love technology. It has done so many great things for my life. I believe in its power to change the world for the better. But I am also aware I am a number, one of the extrapolated statistics in a sea of so many others drowning under the influence but not understanding why. I’d like to now consider myself a recovering ‘technoholic.’ That isn’t to minimise the experiences of people with other addictions, but to label, the level of influence technology has had on my life and how it was leading me away from many of the things I wanted most.
It can be hard to see with so many in a similar state. We’ve only increased our use and dependency to be connected during COVID-19-for our personal and professional lives. We are in unprecedented times, navigating unchartered waters while needing to quickly adapt to the societal and digital shifts taking place. The strategies, tools, and exercises discussed in the book have helped me discover technology’s effects on your life, audit how it’s working, find innovative ways to improve on them and apply them to bring the power of influence onto your side. I invite you to lift the veil of technology’s influence in your life, re-direct its effects, and lead others to do the same.
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Jillian