Staying Calm in Our Connected World
With so much information at our fingertips, it’s easy to get overwhelmed.
The text message sent goosebumps down my spine.
I tried to connect the dots when I read the words “flooding” and “Dominican Republic” in the same sentence.
As I processed the first text, my girlfriend Yesi sent me another chilling text.
It was an article that was published a couple of hours ago.
Cities across the Dominican Republic were flooding due to severe rain. A massive storm was crashing through the country. In its wake was damage beyond imagination. Seeing vivid images of cars racing on highways to escape a rising tide, I could only imagine what people on the ground were experiencing.
A lightbulb went off as everything Yesi shared with me started to connect.
My mind immediately went to Esperanza and Omar.
Somewhere in Santo Domingo, the capital of this island nation, Yesi’s aunt and uncle were somewhere during the middle of the storm. The beginning of their long-awaited vacation in the Dominican Republic was greeted with torrential rain.
Thankfully, their social media updates confirmed they were safe. Unfortunately, thousands of people were displaced from their homes and dozens died.
A series of mixed emotions took over me. First was sadness. Here I was, thousands of miles away, as a country and two people I cared about were suffering.
The second thing I felt was amazement. I’d never been to the Dominican Republic. Yet, the events unfolding hurt like they were happening in front of me.
I wanted to take action. At best, I could donate money to Unicef, the Red Cross, an NGO, or go further by making a GoFundMe to help the families who had lost their homes or loved ones.
As I sat there processing this newly acquired information, I felt hopeless. Taking a sip of black coffee seemed like the only thing I felt I could do at that moment. I felt guilty for being here with the luxury of a coffee when people were coping with so much loss.
Living in a highly connected world
At this point, I was hoping it wasn’t real. But it was.
We can’t ignore what’s happening in the world.
Whether it’s in Santo Domingo, Gaza, Kyiv, Myanmar, or in your backyard, there are events that we must all know about. It only takes seconds on our smartphones, devices, or televisions to absorb ourselves in the news.
I care about what’s happening. I pray for peace and solutions each day. Inside, I admit my knowledge of what’s happening around the globe could be a lot better. I try to live with compassion, learn as much as possible, and understand why groups go to war with each other.
At times, as with what happened in the Dominican Republic, I feel heavy information fatigue.
It makes me wish we were back in an era before smartphones and the internet.
Arianna Huffington wrote in a 2017 article that too much connectedness can reduce our ability to empathize.
I couldn’t agree with her more.
Even though I’m thankful to have the internet and free access to information, there are times when I wish I only had a newspaper and nothing else. I sometimes only want to read the news as it’s written for the following day rather than get instant updates on X or in viral Instagram posts.
However, it seems like there’s no turning back.
Technology keeps advancing, meaning instant information is here to stay.
We need to keep life in a state of balance
As I get older, I realize our emotional buckean only hold so much water.
Take social media for instance. Whenever we’re connected, without realizing it we pour our emotional buckets out whenever posts make us feel something. Whether it’s happiness, curiosity, compassion, excitement, or frustration over people’s posts, this has an effect.
When we receive news or read about the world, part of our emotions empty out again.
Personally, my bucket feels empty very quickly. My mind needs to step away and disconnect.
How to cope when we’re so connected
Receiving a mountain of information each day is exhausting.
If you’re like me, self-care is essential to avoid sinking underneath the avalanche of the world’s news.
It’s a technology time-out.
A walk, a paperback book, or light stretching can work wonders. Maybe you like painting, singing, or playing Parcheesi. A source of joy when taking a break from the noise is essential.
As mentioned earlier, the age of instant information isn’t going anywhere.
We do have control over how we respond to it. Usually, we can decide when we are ready to get that information.
This requires a lot of self-control.
For example, if you know social media accounts will be a deluge of dopamine hits, then wait until after lunch or try deleting each app for a day.
Instead of grabbing our phones every couple minutes to read the BBC app or other news sources, a phone break may be necessary.
I try to only read the news after I’ve completed a few hours of work. This has been an imperfect plan so far, but it works when I’m disciplined.
One of the hardest things for me to do is accept that wars and natural disasters are happening in the world.
But we need to accept this reality and that we have little (if any) control over what happens on our planet.
Life is still beautiful
It’s easy to feel like the world is falling whenever we hear about the atrocities happening around the world.
Each time I read about sad events, my heart cries inside. As my emotions run deep, I sometimes view the world as empty as my bucket.
However, for all the tragic things that happen each day, there’s also a lot of good happening.
For example, at any given time, babies are born, people get married, thousands of people have their first kiss, and millions say, “I love you.” Dreams are coming true and pure beauty is created each day. Kids are learning to read, write, and become the change our world needs. Despite the headlines, I believe our society is improving overall.
Maybe the previous comment is a “very white male with privilege” thing to write, but it’s what I honestly feel. I admit this is who I am.
I say these things not to brush aside the serious issues out there. What’s happening is real. I support all forms of peace and sincerely hope for everyone’s happiness.
I say this as a reminder for balance and to give hope.
In conclusion
We can’t let ourselves sink into information as we navigate the waters of hyper-connectivity.
We must create balance, practice acceptance, take a mental break whenever needed, and care for ourselves.
Remember that good things are also happening in this world.
Thank you for reading! I hope you have a great day.
If you need some positive news, check out:
📬 Subscribe to get all of my articles directly to your inbox!