Stop saying "balance is key" when discussing technology
The above tweet was sent to me in response to my post explaining why innovative educators should look down on upon a new video called, "Look Up." But I disagreed with this balance-seeking Tweeter. "Balance is key" is a common refrain heard by innovative educators and their students. It is meant as a reminder that tech has a place... but only as long as it's balanced with non-tech.
We are a society that seems to embrace balance without question. It is easy to speak those words or nod in agreement when others convey the sentiment. I mean, what can be wrong with balance? It seems easy to agree to this condition. If this has been you - STOP. We don't need to balance technology with non-technology.Technology is a tool and resource that we have at our disposal to use effectively and efficiently for our needs. For many people technology is the way they do business, pleasure, fitness, and more, and that's okay.
If you're wondering why...
Think about it.
When you talk about reading books, do you often hear, "balance is key?"
When you talk about fitness, do you often hear, balance is key?
How about writing? How about talking to friends? How about networking with experts? How about playing chess? How about making documentaries? How about solving complex equations? How about social action? How about doing research?
All those things can be accomplished with tech though it often is not obvious to the observer. What looks like screen-staring is often something even Luddites can value.
If we are lucky, being passionate about any of the things mentioned above allows us to enter a state of what is called flow. Flow is “characterized by complete absorption in what one does”. Sir Ken Robinson talks about the “element:” the intersection between what one loves and what one is good at. These terms describe what is felt and what it looks like to be simultaneously happy and productive. It is a good thing.
Those who have flow experiences are often deeply satisfied with their lives; the community and the world has seen and benefited from that level of dedication. If passionate dedication happens “behind the screens,” why diminish the accomplishment and call for “balance?”
We value and praise all that is mentioned above: Serious athletes, voracious readers, published writers, expert networkers, creators of amazing works in writing, audio, or video.
Technology is a tool that can help us be ALL of those things more effectively and in ways not possible without it. When conversations involving technology end with "balance is key" there's an assumption that those who use it somehow are defaulted to a state of imbalance. That's simply untrue. In fact, technology can be the very tool to enable us to achieve a healthy balance Lisa Nielsen: The Innovative Educator: Stop saying "balance is key" when discussing technology:
