| Hi everyone, Little screens. Everywhere, a little screen. My pal Erwan Lecorre had a great post on Twitter that really stuck with me. It was about the little screens we all carry around and the power they hold over us. Look, I love the little screen. It's like something out of Star Trek—a tiny device that contains all the world's knowledge and allows you to instantly communicate with anyone, anywhere. Fits in your pocket. Takes HD pictures and video. Video calls with your parents. A fantastic tool with great potential to improve your life, productivity, and happiness. But you gotta admit, the way the little screens have assumed such prominency in our lives is pretty crazy. We really do view an increasing proportion of our waking experience through the little screen. Before too long, this will leave the realm of metaphor and become reality. We may very well be viewing normal waking reality through a digital filter. Or at least, we'll have the option—an option that will be very hard to refuse. Hold on to the real world right now. Cherish it. Use the digital to enhance but not replace it. Physical reality will always be here, and you will always be a physical body with physical requirements. The techies haven't been able to crack food or biology yet, and I doubt they'll ever figure out how to make our mortal coil unnecessary and superfluous. If you don't maintain a presence in the real world now, when the technology is still relatively young and primitive (a phone you hold and can easily turn off or put away), you won't be able to mount any resistance once the tech gets really integrated into your consciousness (contact lenses, neurodigital interfaces). How do you maintain a strong presence in the real world? How do you engage with physical reality, even as the digital realm beckons? Let me know in the comment section of Weekly Link Love. | 