There is a lot of talk about technology.

Of super computers, of ultra-fast internet, of artificial intelligence.

And there is a lot of talk about the future.

Humans being connected to machines. Needing them to work, study or have fun. Machines that know who we are and what we like to do.

How strange it is to imagine a future in which we are dependent on machines to live our lives. How will we allow someone else to make these machines, and how will we allow them to be always connected to us?

It's funny, but we already allowed it. And it was of our own free will.

We all have a smartphone and this machine is always connected to us. It is a supercomputer with GPS, camera, microphone and internet connection, which knows where we are, what we hear, see and what we want to buy. How did we let this happen?

It’s quite simple, really: this technology is amazing. It has amazing features that make life so much easier. It allows us to work, talk to and see people we love, find what we need and have fun… How can we say no?

We choose to have technology in our pockets because it answers timeless human needs.: of being valued (let's look at our social media profiles), of being useful (let's see how much can be done) and of feeling in control of our lives (let's see how easy it is to turn on and off).

This omnipresence is the result not of a shadowy corporation that wants to oppress us, but of thousands of companies that have been developing and selling products and services that we need and value. As with everything, there are also undeniable excesses and opaque practices that take advantage of the naivety of their users.

But that is not our problem. It is not what “they” do, decide and are interested in. The central issue is what we do, decide and are interested in. It is not what depends on others, it is what depends on us.

The greater the extrinsic freedom we have, the more we need intrinsic freedom.

That is, we have more and more external freedom: we can see, do and buy more and more things with greater and greater ease, but how much internal freedom do we have to enjoy so much choice?

Let's think about how dependent we are on our smartphones:

Isn’t it common to quickly go to the phone in the morning to see what “happened”?

How many times have we felt that urge to see if there is a new message?

When we are with a friend and he is absent, what do we do?

How many times do we prefer to film or photograph a moment instead of enjoying it?

Let's think about the compulsion with which we repeat the same gestures and with which we access apps, eternally looking for the next treat or entertainment.

It won’t be very productive to try to live a life without technology because it brings many benefits, but we have to be aware of its costs and problems. Let’s just look at the 4 “Ds”:

The Difficulty of Being Alone
The Waste of Time
The Permanent Distraction
The Disconnection from What Surrounds Us
We must use technology, not technology using us. So how can we use technology to our advantage and regain our inner freedom?

It would be naive to think that we always have the willpower to decide what is best. Apps and especially social networks are carefully designed to be addictive and for us to spend a lot of time there. Our willpower is not enough to combat their charm.

It's like being at a party and after drinking 6 beers, we wonder why we can't resist a 7th beer! At that point, we have very little inner freedom left! It's much easier to not show up at that party than to be totally immersed in an environment that we can hardly resist...

In everything we do compulsively, it is useful to create obstacles to make it difficult to do what distracts us. Some alternatives include:

Turn off social media notifications (or for the fearless, uninstall the apps);
Leave your phone at the entrance of your house (whoever needs us can always use a bizarre practice: call);
Save the apps that distract us the most in hidden folders and “away” from our zombie fingers;
Avoid endlessly scrolling through social media by throwing your phone out the window and running in the opposite direction.
We must always make conscious decisions about what we want to do with our limited attention and time. On the contrary, if I always have my phone in my hand, it's no surprise that I check it hundreds of times a day, especially if I'm reminded by permanent and seductive notifications...

But let's not fool ourselves: We don't have to be permanently available for all requests, we do have to use our scarce time in the best possible way: not based on what other people's priorities are, but based on what we really want to do.

It is curious that we use the expression “surfing the internet”, because in fact we are on a vast sea, often at the mercy of the wind and looking for some paradise island.

But as we know, a ship without a course has no favorable winds. Therefore, if we are going to sail, let us go from being castaways adrift to being confident captains of our ship.

So let's think positively.

If I spend less time “connected to machines”, what can I do with the time I have left?

If we just save 30 minutes a day on technology, we'll have almost 5 weeks of work just for us at the end of the year! Just think about what we could do with 5 weeks of just doing what we want (We talked about this and the power of habits here).

What things excite me and bring me peace of mind?

A walk in the garden? A chat with friends? A lovingly prepared dinner? A quiet read of a book?

If it is good to create obstacles for things that distract us to do them that make it difficult to do them, it is equally useful for things that are important to remove the obstacles so that they are easier to do. How can I make it easier to do these things?

I can schedule time for these programs, I can ask a friend to take me for a walk, I can take a book off the shelf and start reading…

How good it is to exchange the superficiality of my distraction for the depth of meeting a friend, the joy of a hug, the enjoyment of a conversation.

It’s tempting to sail with the digital tides, but it rarely gets us where we want to go. How liberating it is to reclaim the captain’s seat and steer this ship of technology where we really want to go!

Share and comment on what excites you about technology and what takes away your freedom? What methods have helped you navigate this sea and what would you like to try?

Technology promises to give us more and more choices and possibilities, many of them to increase our external freedom.

But the question remains: What will we do with our inner freedom?