An Unintentional Death

Thinking is becoming extinct. In the same way washing machines and cars have contributed to the atrophying of our bodies, our one-click world is slaughtering our need to think.  Beating our clothes against a rock takes time and effort, even some struggle. So does thinking.  Fortunately, we don’t actually need to think any longer.

  • Spellcheck corrects our writing.
  • A spreadsheet handles the math.
  • Facebook reminds us of birthdays.
  • Phone numbers are stored in our iPhone.
  • GPS ensures we get there.
  • Siri can find a hip restaurant.
  • Alexa purchases flowers for our anniversary.
  • Amazon ships same day if we fail to plan ahead.
  • Linked In shows us who to connect with.
  • Yelp filters out the poorly rated businesses.
  • HootSuite will tweet while we’re sleeping.
  • Google Ads recommend helpful products.
  • FitBit reminds us to exercise.
  • BuzzFeed filters our news.
  • Indeed finds who’s hiring.
  • Shazam deciphers the song that’s playing.
  • Match.com tells us who to date.
  • Crystal tells us others’ communication preferences.
  • An assessment chooses our career path.

Inventions like escalators meant we no longer needed to exert energy to ascend a stairwell. Now, Uber ensures we can get to that trendy new restaurant five blocks away in under 3 minutes.

But at what cost?

Obesity has doubled in the US over the past three decades and 80% of adults do not meet the basic physical activity recommendations. In fact, sitting is the new smoking and it’s killing us.

Are our brains the next in line to become obsolete? A million ingenious Apps have freed up our time to do amazing things, but are we using that time wisely? Before clicking to the next thing, take a moment to think about it.

Happy hunting.

P.S.  Here’s a scary thought: the mere presence of your smartphone reduces brain power (see study here).

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