Reset Your Digital Relationships with Award-Winning Author, Elizabeth Uviebinené - Episode 9
It’s time to reset our relationship with technology, and the platforms to which we give our time, energy, and data.
We’re often able to drill down into the nitty-gritty of malicious practices that impact our lives, but to apply it on a societal level takes a big picture perspective. Elizabeth Uviebinené is the multi-award winning author of The Reset, a book which offers us an opportunity to reconsider the effects of our digital lifestyles.
In this deep and insightful episode of Disconnected, we take a look at the constant battle we face against apps designed to keep us there, the tech tools that are obliterating employer-employee trust, our untapped ability to create caring communities from scratch, and much more...
This episode of Disconnected covers:
Spending more fulfilling time away from our phones
The battle against apps designed to keep us on them
Always-online culture & the decay of trust in us to work from home
Social media’s power to create communities for those most in need
Accountability and anonymity online
Episode Highlights:
“I think modern life gallops at pace in a way that you really can't opt out of. I think that that's what I find the hardest, most challenging thing about where we are right now.” - 5:50 - Elizabeth Uviebinené
“The worst thing you can do is to define that toxic relationship with your phone, remove it, and then not really fill it with something else, because you're always gonna feel as if you're missing out on something.” - 9:35 - Elizabeth Uviebinené
“Lockdown meant we all slowed down. We had no choice but to spend more time on social media apps, but what I realised was that I don't want to spend my life clicking on and watching Insta stories of people living their life. If I had an epitaph, I do not want it to say ‘The girl who watched a million stories.’” - 13:55 - Elizabeth Uviebinené
“I think that using tech in that way to snoop on people you've employed for for good reason is going to obliterate any trust. There’s little things about the world of work that mean you may feel like you can't bring your whole self to work, you may always feel like you have to play a particular role to be successful. Having that additional psychological pressure that you're being watched in your home is really, really damaging.” - 17:45 - Elizabeth Uviebinené
“I think that social media’s greatest strength is also its weakness, which is people. I think it can be used in such a way that amplifies people's stories and makes people not feel alone. But then on the other hand, it can make people not feel valued and not feel worthy.” - 22:45 - Elizabeth Uviebinené
“That's what I find the most powerful about the digital landscape and social media; You think you're the only person going through something, but there's probably so many other people that are going through it, and at the click of a button, you can start a page on Instagram, a page on Twitter or a group on LinkedIn, post something and be so surprised by what you get back.” - 28:20 - Elizabeth Uviebinené
“That for me is one of the saddest parts of social media: People think they can just say whatever they want, and do whatever they want, because everybody comes across as fair game.” - 34:55 - Elizabeth Uviebinené
“We can put so much onus on people and say, ‘You shouldn't be on social media, delete social media’ - No. What we do when we talk about a lot of challenges is we try to fix people and not fix the systems, and that is just never the right way to go.” - 37:50 - Elizabeth Uviebinené
Links & references:
Elizabeth Uviebinené:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-uviebinene/
https://www.instagram.com/elizabethuviebinene/
Jag Sharma:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jagsharma
https://www.instagram.com/jagsharma/
The Reset - Ideas to Change How We Work and Live:
Photo by Annie Harmeston