It’s easy to whine and hand-wring (wait, is that even a word?) about the tech we have now (smart phones, social media, etc.). But it didn’t start there, did it?
I’m guessing it was mid-twentieth century or so when radio technology had developed in such a way that we could have radios with us practically wherever we went. The handheld transistor. The dashboard car radio. And suddenly it was the case, like never before, that we could take noise with us (well, that kind of noise) almost everywhere.
Think about it: apart from the past 70 years or so, in the whole of human history human beings had to spend so many moments in the course of a day, even extended moments, with nothing but silence and their own thoughts (well, that kind of silence).
In other words, it’s a relatively recent phenomenon that it’s possible, and now expected, that you’ll be enveloped by noise like that, with barely any time to think in peace and quiet.
All that to say, I’m not just trying to get back to some healthy pre-smart phone habits here. I’m not just trying to get back to, say, 2005. Try 1905.
But without the dentistry.