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gwunspoken
We know that now more than ever, there is a growing disconnection between parents and their teens, corporates and their employees, and human interactions in general.
This can cause stress, frustration and many arguments within families and the work environment.
gwunspoken looks at the challenges people of all ages have in their relationships with one another and provides experience and advice, allowing all parties to have a voice.... and feel heard.
Join us to hear corporates, parents, educators, teens and the latest advice of how we can in fact live the life we love, in making authentic interactions, because we know... authentic connection is everything.
gwunspoken
Nature's Embrace: The Power of Unplugging
Ever wondered how a simple tech-free holiday could transform your perspective on life? Join us as we recount a memorable trip to Chinchilla with my daughter, where the absence of digital distractions allowed us to reconnect with nature and each other. Through this story, we explore the delicate balance between the conveniences of modern technology and the need for genuine, uninterrupted moments of relaxation. Discover how even the serene environment of Chinchilla could offer a refreshing break from the hustle and bustle of life, and surprise you with its unexpected charm.
In a world where mobile phones dominate our time, how do we reclaim the joy of authentic human connections? We share an eye-opening experience from a date night that brought to light the extent of our technology addiction, even in places meant for personal enjoyment like the cinema. This episode challenges us to prioritise face-to-face interactions and consider the sacrifices required to foster meaningful relationships. Tune in for an insightful discussion with David Gillespie in our next episode on managing technology to enhance real connections, and learn how to cultivate emotional fulfillment in today’s tech-heavy world.
www.in8code.com
Welcome to another edition of GW Unspoken, where we discuss stuff we don't typically talk about but probably should. And we're here for Season 5, episode 4, talking about the impacts that technology has on our overall health, and it's very interesting. I know it's a holiday season for our kids and teachers out there right now and maybe people that are working out there might be lucky enough to have some holidays too around this June July period. But if you're up to date on our GW Unspoken podcast, we're coming to you now in or just starting off the second week of holidays. It was very interesting to see that the first week of holidays I was lucky enough to take one of my daughters out west and we're out in the southwest corridor, out in Chinchilla, and we've been there for a long time because when I was growing up my parents used to drop us off there with my two sisters and absolutely nothing to do out there except for sweat during summertime but in the wintertime freezing cold, and we're lucky enough to have grandparents out there who take us around church communities or play a bit of social tennis. Barbecues are big, people drop in for coffee out in the veranda, very slow-paced lifestyle.
Speaker 1:Pa used to be a great gentleman, great role model in my life. He used to just work around the property, always up doing it fences, or working on the cattle or doing I suppose he grew sorghum and wheat, sunflower, you name it. He tried to grow it out there and it was just interesting that my daughter and I, when we were out there, just loved it. It was just the riverbank. We were on a riverbank out there, it was called Archer's Crossing. There was a couple of other campers up above us but no one was around where we were and it was complete silence, completely quiet, nothing to do. We set some lines to try and catch some yellowbelly, took some little yabbies out there and it just surprised me how my daughter didn't get bored. She actually loved it. She said it was like a 10 out of 10 out in Chinchilla and I said, boy, it's actually just quiet, it's not busy, we can just be ourselves and just lay back. And I was trying to work that out how you know, if it took anyone else out there, would they feel the same thing? Would other 14-year-olds feel that same? I guess, emotion Because there was nothing to do, there was fishing, there was camping, there was fishing, there was camping, there was a fire and that was about it. And look, we probably set about 20 lines out there and I think we only caught six or seven fish. But it was just a unique time and it's just absolute gold to have that relationship where we can have that quality time. But just to see her sit on a chair with me next to the fire and kicking back and roasting some marshmallows and cooking like we cooked roast veggies and that in the camp oven, it was just amazing, it was just really de-escalating, if that makes sense.
Speaker 1:And it was interesting because the second week or the second part of that week, we met up with the rest of the family and they had a little hip camp place. They were staying in only one campus allowed there on the environment there and it was right on the Clarence River. It was between Yamba and McLean, a great gentleman there looking after us and the girls could catch fish and I'd take them out in the boat and we'd catch brim and some flathead, taught them how to fish, taught them how to collect yappies. It was just a beautiful time and they had one toilet, one shower there. Chinchilla had nothing like that and I said to her which one would you rather go to. And she said definitely Chinchilla. I said how can you pick Chinchilla over? You know this place between Yammer and McLean, I don't get it Like you've got a shower, you've got a toilet, you know you've got green grass, the dogs there you can muck around with, you can go on the boat. She said it was just quiet. The other place was quiet. It was still too busy and I was trying to understand that. I was trying to understand that from a 49er perspective. How could that be? And when I was on the riverbank it took my mobile phone to take some pictures of there and send it back to the family and say how they're going and catch up with them and give feedback on how my daughter's going and how they're going.
Speaker 1:And I did something different. I did something different. I did a vodcast. So I took a video and showed the riverbank and showed the fire and my daughter around the fire just chilling there. And I was talking about how it's really important to get on land and away from the busyness of life. And we know that when you get back to business, like we did, you get back to distraction, because your mind often gets distracted by the pretty things or the pretty lights or something the next thing to do or the next thing to do or I'm busy, and those distractions often comes when our phone gets back in our hand.
Speaker 1:Now, doing the vodcast, I was talking about how the environment is so important and I showed the riverbank, showed my daughter around the fire, showed her a little swag we're both staying in and the fishing lines, the habits we're using for bait, and I started talking about how it's so important to get off technology and just reset. And over time my daughter said you've got to be careful, dad, because you're being too negative with technology. And I went what do you mean? She goes. Well, you keep bagging it, you keep bagging technology.
Speaker 1:You know, she said I've hardly been on my phone. Like she needs a phone to regulate her insulin. That she has, but we do use our phone for everything else. You asked me for directions the other day on the way out here and I got to use my phone. You asked me to check the tides when we got yabbies at 5 o'clock in the morning from Briby on the way out here. You know, without the phone we couldn't do that. We couldn't ring my mum or step-mum or step-sisters or sister if we didn't have that phone and I completely got it. You're probably right. Maybe I do need to change my tune a bit. And we know we use our phone for everything like that. I don't think I used my phone the other day for you know which direction the house is facing. If we're selling a house, we want to promote, obviously the north-easterly aspect, and whereabouts is it in our home, et cetera, et cetera.
Speaker 1:But I think the problem is that it's not that the technology is a bad thing, it's that we rely on it so much that it is easy to be distracted. I want you to think about right now in your situation, if you've got a family partner yourself, when you're at work, if you're a student, during a gym session, wherever you might be, how many times are you distracted by your phone? That's not a necessity. How many times are you distracted? And again I'm going negative again. I get that. But I get phones are important. I get that they have a purpose and man, they've changed so much and allow us to do so many things now. But the trouble is the technology, the way it's geared, especially on mobile phones. It's not normal for our brains to have that much distraction, that much business and hence it changes our mindsets. I'll give you another example Tonight we're by ourselves, my wife and I are by ourselves.
Speaker 1:So I decided like, hey, let's do date night. We're moving our house at the moment, so we've been busy during the day and I said, right, that's it, we let's do date night. We're moving our house at the moment, so we've been busy during the day and I said, right, that's it, we're doing date night. We're going to start off by about 3.30, organize for both of us to have an hour and a half massage. After that we walk down and grab some sushi each, which is great. And then I said, right, that's it, we don't have the kids, but I want to take them out to watch Inside Out 2. Apparently, it's a teenage version, so perfect, we can look at that. Um, and so I took her.
Speaker 1:We went home, got showered, came back and went out to watch inside out too, and it was amazing what unfolded. I couldn't believe it. People were coming to the movie, sitting down, no worries. A group of three girls, probably about their late teens, came in front of us, mobile phone on blah, blah movie starts, bang technology off, all laughing good movie in a moment, and then, next thing, you know, it's the right-hand side of us, halfway through the movie, there's a glow. Yep, you got it the person beside us, probably an 18-year-old girl on her mobile phone. Then, about 20 minutes later, the girl's in front of us laughing, joking, sending showing each other Instagram messages or Snapchat whatever it was, I don't know but again a glow. And I just said it's just amazing.
Speaker 1:I'm not making this a female thing, but what really scared me was that when the movie finished, 80% of the cinema stayed in their seats and turned their mobile phone on and just sat on their phones. Like I said to my wife, I said look, have a look at this, just have a look at this. It's like a Kodak moment. Take a photo of this. This is just. Obviously we didn't, because that would be weird. But have a look at this.
Speaker 1:People could not move from their seats because they had to bend their neck over, check their mobile phones in case they'd missed anything. Right then, right there, as soon as the movie finished. I've never seen it like that, and maybe I'm old and fuddy-duddy, I don't know, but it's like we're in a time zone, we're like the Matrix. I just could not believe it. I said. I know there's an addiction to technology out here, but have a look at this and if you can sort of picture what I'm saying, you picture.
Speaker 1:There's like I don't know, 100 people in in the movies. 80 of them are just bending down now, their head, looking down towards their lap because they get their phone out straight away and looking at their phone and meanwhile the movie's finished, their credits are coming up. Usually there's like a dog fight to get out of the movie once the credits come up and I just went. I just cannot believe this. It is just completely transformative.
Speaker 1:You know we're talking to teenagers out there, or especially adults who are, you know, 30, 35 and know nothing but the iPad. How do we change that Like, why can't we stop a movie and in the movie, start talking and laughing and joking about the movie and what's next? Are we going to go for a coffee? It's only 8.45, whatever what's happening tomorrow, I guess the authentic conversation rather than be individually on their own device looking at it themselves. How can we conform to going back to that if we're built to be part of a tribe and now that tribe's norm is to be on a phone or to connect in that version.
Speaker 1:Again, the connection's not a bad thing if you're not addicted to it. But surely if it's the end of a movie and all they can do is get on their phone straight away, I'm challenging it. Is that a sign of addiction? I mean, you're there with your family or your friends and the first thing you do is individually get on your phone. I don't know. It just blew my brain and again I thought of my daughter's message saying it's not all negative. Dad, we get that.
Speaker 1:We know that people cannot regulate their own technology use because it becomes addicted. All the algorithms, all the way it's set up, all the social media channels are all set up, gaming's all set up for us to be addicted, to stay on that channel, to stay on that platform. Tonight was another example of that. How do you stay positive if we know something is actually affecting our community, our society, when technology is an addictive pathway changing of everyone's brains? Now, yes, we use them for good, yes, there's a purpose for our phones, but surely that is not human behavior where we actually seek out authentic connections? You tell me, write back to us. I'd love to actually give you some feedback about what you think, because I think that oxytocin, that feel-good hormone, gets released when we have authentic conversations, often face-to-face laughing, joking, reading body language, all that kind of stuff. Now is we're looking for that next dopamine hit, that next, like the next people sending photos of themselves in the movies, looking for likes to say, hey, look at my great life in the movies. I don't understand it. I don't get that connection. I don't think it's authentic.
Speaker 1:Here's a challenge for you journalists Swig, when was the last time you felt authentically connected? Write down, write down. When was the last time you felt authentically connected? Write down, write down. When was the last time you felt authentically connected, with whom? Who was it? Where was it and was there a purpose to? When you met man? There was a guy who came here yesterday and we were looking at tiling our backyard and a young Italian guy only his own business now, now, and we just got on with a house on fire and Ryan gave us like a five-minute quote. He was here for about 45 minutes. I think we missed our. We had to find our keys, get our keys to our new place, and we missed that appointment because we were there just chatting and talking about the backyard and laughing and joking and he was sending out a few F-bombs and it was really funny. But we were authentically connected and it was just got inside us. It was unbelievable. It was actually quite funny out there we were talking about how we can best do the backyard. When were you last authentically connected? Number one. Number two describe that feeling. How connected were you? How did it feel to be authentically connected? Describe it, write down the emotions.
Speaker 1:And three when can you make time to make this important for your loved ones, that authentic connection? When can you make time? We know that whole cliche that's saying if nothing changes, nothing changes. If you want to have that nice connection with your partner or spouse, if you want to have that nice connection with your friends, if you want to have that really nice authentic connection with your kids, whatever your circumstance is, something has to sacrifice to give you time. We cannot change time. We can change what we do with our time, but time keeps going. It is still the same consistent thing.
Speaker 1:What can you sacrifice to make that importance in your life where you've got an authentic connection? If I asked you to write down now three things that's stopping you, what would you write? If I asked you now what are three things that would change in your life and your feeling towards that significant other. What kind of feelings would you write If I asked you now what are three things that would change in your life and your feeling towards that significant other? What kind of feelings would you like to have? Would that come from a text message or an Instagram shot or a Facebook post? Or would it be sitting side by side over a meal and laughing and joking, and what would that actually feel?
Speaker 1:What can you sacrifice? When can you sacrifice time to make that important for you? Because I'm telling you what time will just move and as you get older, it feels like time just flies by. Make the change now. It's authentic connections that really count, and I think that you'll love the next episode coming up where we talk to David Gillespie again about some of the things that he talks about technology and maybe some of the things that we can actually improve to make sure we have those authentic connections. Thank you for joining us for this episode and looking forward to your feedback. Thank you.