Default Settings
The Small Question That Changes How You Use Your Technology
You set up a new phone and start using it. You download an app and tap through the permissions without really reading them. You sign up for something and find yourself receiving things you don't remember agreeing to. None of these felt like decisions in the moment, and that is exactly the point.
I've been thinking a lot about the default settings of life. Default settings are where we have a choice, but abdicate that choice by allowing the unconscious to guide us.
Default settings are the settings for everyone, not for you as an individual. This can apply to tech, and all of life. Where do you have choice that you are not exercising, in favor of default settings? Notice without judgement if possible.
As the world speeds up along with the pace of technology, I am brought back again and again to the question: where are WE in all of this? Our bodies, our experiences, our shifting landscapes as a result of these changes?
I also think the seemingly small questions are just as important as the big questions right now. One of the small questions is, is this right for me?
I think with this pace of life, and social pressures, it can be a challenge to slow down enough, or to pause enough to ask this question.
We are on the treadmill of DOING, ACCOMPLISHING, GOING, ACHIEVING. When we are in this cycle, and make no mistake, on some level we all are, there is no pause. It is stress begetting stress. Cortisol spikes and never being "off."
Our personal technology use, whatever your flavor, phones, socials, tablets, laptops, all wifi connected devices, encourages and exacerbates this persistent low grade (and sometimes high grade) stress response. Quite honestly, it's designed that way.
When we are stressed, not just mentally, but in our bodies, we make different decisions than when we are not stressed. We can let things go by the wayside because they are not as high a priority as the stress we feel.
This is where the pause is so important when it comes to the question, is this right for me?
Persistent, consistent, pervasive stress does not allow space for us to ask this question. If we did, we might change our default settings a little bit, or a lot a bit.
As things speed up, we naturally allow more default settings in our life. We casually and passively opt into things simply because we didn't opt out.
So I ask again, is this right for me?
No matter what type of tech you are using, I encourage you to take the time to go through the settings. We are automatically defaulted to opt into so much when we get any type of new tech, or even a new app, or even sign up for a course or newsletter.
Got a new app? Check the settings.
Got a new phone? Check the settings.
Got a new wifi connected fridge? Check the settings.
Got a new remote garage door opener on your phone? Check the settings.
Got a new wifi connected fitness device? Check the settings.
I could go on and on, but you get the idea.
When you check the settings, of anything, I invite you to ask, is this right for me?
Trusting ourselves, our own experiences, boundaries, and needs is more important than ever. This is just one place to start.
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