Name: Life in the "digital now"
Uploaded: 2013-10-30T15:16:19Z
Duration: 11 min 48 s
Description: One year ago, Abha Dawesar was living in blacked-out Manhattan post-Sandy, scrounging for power to connect. As a novelist, she was struck by this metaphor: Have our lives now become fixated on the drive to digitally connect, while we miss out on what's real?

One year ago, Abha Dawesar was living in blacked-out Manhattan post-Sandy, scrounging for power to connect. As a novelist, she was struck by this metaphor: Have our lives now become fixated on the drive to digitally connect, while we miss out on what's real?

Life in the "digital now"

Technology has rewired daily life, making the need to stay connected feel as vital as food and shelter, as seen during a blackout in Manhattan after Hurricane Sandy. The digital world collapses the past, present, and future into a constant, restless 'now' that disrupts deep attention and leaves memories unanchored. Real meaning comes from living both in the flow of narrative time and in fully present moments, which digital distractions often erode. Reclaiming our sense of self and connection demands that we choose moments that restore, rather than fragment, our experience of time.