In my independent study this semester I am studying mindfulness. The concept of being mindful is to stay in the present moment and pay close attention to all your surroundings and the sensations in your body. It is important to practice mindfulness because we often multitask and go into “autopilot” mode, thus missing out on what’s actually going on in the world around us.
The video below talks about the effect of the internet and multitasking on the mind. Our memories are negatively impacted and many don’t make it to the long term memory storage in our brains. Have you ever had a conversation with someone and then 5 minutes later you have no idea what you talked about? Well this is an example of a memory not making it to long term storage. In order to avoid these problems it is important to give yourself some time during the day to take 5-10 minutes to clear your mind and just focus on your breaths and body sensations. The internet isn’t bad, we just need to make a conscious effort to unwind after a long day of staring at a screen. Davidson fosters an environment of multitasking and it is crucial to give those around us our undivided attention when they are trying to tell us something or else relationships will suffer.