CLEAR THINKING Have YOU Surrendered Yet? If you were suddenly transported from the year 1920 to the year 2020, you would likely be stunned by the technology available at the fingertips of millions of people every day. Once you'd settled into your "new era," you might take a moment to reflect on the effect our technological toys have on both our outer and inner lives. You may notice that our televisions, iPods, computers, wireless networks, smartphones, steaming services and now AI all have one thing in common. Each piece of technology is essentially a functional aspect of human consciousness replicated and represented in a machine. For example, the screen of your television is a replication of the screen of your mind, designed to receive and project images. The TV screen is a window onto the world and the lives of others, just as the mind is a window onto the world "out there" and the world "in here." The faculty of human memory manifests itself in CDs (now almost obsolete), MP3s, DVDs, memory sticks, hard drives, cloud storage, and countless other digital media. In the "editing suite" of your consciousness, just as in the editing suites of television production studios, there is the capacity to cut, paste, manipulate, imagine, and construct the future - now. There is also the electronic ability to replay any scene, just as we can revisit and replay almost any memory at any time. Then there is the ability to "freeze-frame," something we can also do in consciousness, though not very well - especially if we have become addicted to constant stimulation, movement, and change. Holding a single mental frame, or simply "being still," is not particularly appealing to many people. To some, even the idea sounds boring. Recording, projecting, editing, transmitting, freezing, mixing, and manipulating are all functions of consciousness that have now been reproduced in the communication tools and entertainment technologies that surround us every day. We might say, "What a wonderful time to be alive, with such remarkable tools to keep us entertained, connected, and informed." Perhaps there have been many evenings when, after a demanding day at work, you arrived home, made yourself a cup of tea, and headed for that "deity" in the corner of your living room. On bended knee, with bowed head, you reached out and ceremoniously pressed the ON button. Well, that was years ago. Today you're more likely to pick up the remote - or simply ask a voice assistant - and instantly have access to hundreds of channels and millions of videos. An evening of relaxation has begun. Or has it? Björn Borg Effect And now there is AI - the increasingly sophisticated simulation of human intelligence. Some say it will eventually surpass human intelligence. Others argue that, in certain tasks, it already has. It appears that very few people have noticed - and even fewer acknowledged - the downside of many evenings of "stimulated relaxation" over long periods of time. Very few recognise what might be called the Björn Borg Effect until well after it has taken hold. For five consecutive years, Wimbledon champion Björn Borg was arguably one of the fittest athletes on the planet. Then he retired from professional tennis to enjoy a quieter life. A few years later he attempted a comeback. Did he win any major matches? No. Why? His timing and stamina were no longer the same. His muscles had atrophied. The challenge for us is not simply the atrophy of our physical muscles, although that may also happen if we become too intimate with our armchairs. It is our mental muscles that may begin to weaken. If you watch yourself while watching television - or scrolling endlessly through digital media - you might notice that you are gradually surrendering the functions of your own consciousness, the very functions of your own life, to a machine. In effect, you are saying: "Tell me what to think. Tell me what to feel. Tell me how to be." Which is another way of saying: "Please do the work of living for me. Please do my thinking, my feeling, and my decision-making for me." Imperceptibly, the mind can begin to lose its sharpness. The intellect - the capacity to discern clearly and make wise decisions - may also weaken over time. Then one day, when we step into real life and encounter negative people, difficult circumstances, or unexpected challenges, we suddenly find it difficult, if not impossible, to remain positive, stay focused, communicate clearly, and respond proactively. The mental strength simply isn't there. The inner stability required to "see clearly" is diminished. Our thoughts become negative more easily. It becomes harder to make good decisions when they matter most. We become more reactive than responsive, and less able to support others. This gradual surrendering of the functions of our consciousness is also influenced by the ‘quality’ of much of today's media. It is remarkably easy to consume negative stories and disturbing images without noticing the cumulative effect they have once stored in our own "inner MP3"—our memory. Then we wonder why so many of our thoughts and feelings lean towards negativity or disempowerment. Eventually we hear the old saying, "Garbage in, garbage out," and suddenly it makes sense. This is not to suggest that we should never watch television, use computers, enjoy movies, or consult AI. Rather, it suggests that we should become more conscious of our relationship with technology. It is no accident that increasing numbers of young people struggle with anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges. While the causes are complex and cannot be reduced to technology alone, the sheer volume of media consumption, exposure to violence, constant comparison, and digital stimulation undoubtedly raises important questions. Perhaps it is a signal to us all. Consider this familiar experience. You are watching a film. The hero suffers a heartbreaking loss and becomes overwhelmed with sadness. How do you feel? Sad. Perhaps even sadder than the actor portraying the role. You may tell yourself it is only fiction - a story that isn't real - but your emotional system still responds. Whether or not tears roll down your face, your subconscious quietly records the repeated association: Loss... sadness - Loss... sadness - Loss... sadness. Accumulated over months and years, countless emotional impressions may contribute to a subtle background mood that becomes increasingly difficult to recognise. Is there a solution? Is there a better way? Is there a way to interrupt the pattern of mesmerisation that the quantity and quality of modern technology can create if we are not aware? For those who have become dependent on constant digital stimulation, it is not easy. It is neither practical nor desirable to eliminate television, computers, smartphones, or AI from our lives. That is certainly not what is being suggested here. Technology is here to stay. The real question is this: How can we enjoy technology without surrendering our personal power to it? Perhaps we can learn - and teach others - how not to become emotionally entangled in every drama we witness, particularly fictional ones? Perhaps we can learn not to confuse empathy with emotional absorption. Perhaps we can recognise that repeatedly escaping into other people's stories can slowly diminish our ability to live our own. Perhaps we can choose to spend a little less time passively watching and a little more time actively creating, connecting, conversing, reflecting, and living. Perhaps it's time to walk against the tide... Just a little. One thing is certain. The choice is personal. Question: Why do you think so many people use technology as a form of escape? Reflection: Television, movies, streaming, social media, AI—is it relaxation, or is it stimulation? Action: Calculate approximately how much time you spend each day and each week surrendering the functions of your consciousness to technology. Then ask yourself: Is that relationship serving me, or am I serving it? © Mike George