Those readers who know me understand, I think, that I try to take long-term perspectives on issues that eschew drawing full conclusdions based on the current "thing" placed in front of us,

So it is with this futurism item (excerpt below) found in The Times (UK) Online. 

I recognise clearly the issues and patterns of responses (withdrawing from connection willy-nilly, the difficulty in establishing more than superficial "friend" relationships, concentration and focus, etc.).  I also wonder if the responses that are identified as a "serious trend" in this article are not just a signpost on the way to our collective eventual acknowledgment that most aspects of our lives are somehow (and increasingly, as we move into the future) seriously impacted by the presence and capabilities of the digital interconnected communications-and-collaboration platform we call  "the Web".

The use of the term "diet" reinforces my wonderment, as "dieting" and some form of makeover-ing (de-cluttering our lives) seem to have become permanent fixtures of our modern Western lives.  On the other hand, of course it makes sense to disconnect from relationships and activities that never really got off the ground or existed in any real sense.

I'd apply this "trend" to the wired workplace / organisation as well, as I believe there is a great deal more use of the Web yet to come that will have dramatic impact upon the ways we work and get things done in the wired-and-wireless age.  That may be tougher, actually, because it's implicit in the promise of the productivity increases available from applying technology and digital-era sociology to knowledge work that the use of computers and connections will become more ubiquitous and penetrate our lives more deeply.

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Unplugging

[ Snip ... ]

Digital technology has reduced the need for face-to-face contact. But as those who boast of having 150 “friends” realise that most of them are merely digital acquaintances, they are starting to crave the real thing. With this comes the understanding that you can be too connected, and that it's time to unplug.

This means that people will start to edit and unwire their lives, removing unwanted “friends” and dropping out of social networks as they reclaim personal or family time. There is an aspirational element here, too - just as owning a mobile phone was once seen as a mark of sophistication, not owning one (or using one sparingly) is becoming a signal that a person has sorted out their priorities or has staff to take mundane calls.

Hence the new phrase “digital diets”, and an interest in analogue products: fountain pens, wet-film photography and vinyl records.

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