It’s such a simple idea – but not easy to figure out or know what will happen. And honestly, we don’t think about how it changes us or our new way of being until it gets out of control. The Psychology always follows the Technology. We make the thing – the thing changes us – and then we think about how the thing has changed us.

Pick any technology – the printing press – paper – the pen – the telephone – the television – the car – facebook – instagram – tiktok. I’ve written about this before – but attention deficit disorder wasn’t an available condition until after the television was invented. The TV changed our attention span and attentional space. We do not know how to stay in attentional space for long periods of time. We have to write books on Flow because it is not a normal thing anymore to just be in a constant state of Flow.

I’ve been wanting to write this for a few weeks, but I needed to watch some things before I wrote about it. After this pandemic – we are all going to have to deal with a new way of being – masks – social distancing – handshakes – and gatherings will all change. How we sit in restaurants and in our churches will all change.

When I first started researching identity and how it’s impacted by going online – it was about 15 years ago when I started asking these questions. It was so interesting because 15 years ago – video games were evil, we didn’t think typing with thumbs would ever take off, and screen time was a big thing that we were trying to limit.

Fast-forward to Covid-19 and staying at home – the World Health Organization encourages video games and the news is telling us that screen time might not be so bad for our children. Don’t get me wrong. I’m staying in doors and I’m wearing masks and I’m trying to stay safe, but my reason for writing this is that all of a sudden the things that we were leery about 15 years ago is now being encouraged to keep us in doors. The technology always changes the psychology. There will be a new way of being – a new way of greeting each other – a new way of interacting at restaurants – a new way of organizing proxemics that is socially and culturally acceptable. I don’t know what it will look like. I have my guesses – but that’s for another post.

How do you think the technology has changed our psychology? How do you see our new ways of being?