Technology & Connection Tip #3: Texting Throughout the Day

This week, we are offering some tips for developing your connection with loved ones, coworkers, and friends without over-using smart phones, internet, and other technological aides. Today’s tip focuses on texting throughout the day.

Technology & Connection Tip #2: The Television

This week, we are offering some tips for developing your connection with loved ones, coworkers, and friends without over-using smart phones, internet, and other technological aides. Today’s tip focuses on the television and the role it plays in disturbing our face-to-face connections.

Technology & Connection Tip #1: Checking Email

This week, we are offering some tips for developing your connection with loved ones, coworkers, and friends without over-using smart phones, internet, and other technological aides.

Technology and Connection

Smart phones, iPod, iPad, tablets, laptops, television, and every other device that gives connection– we are more connected than any other time in history. To think that one would need to wait a week or month to hear back from a family member or for a business deal is not comprehensible. Even when people are in the same room, text messages, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook dominate the conversation rather than meaningful conversations with those present in the room. Couples do not wait until they return home from work to talk about their day. These couples use Face Time, Skype, text messages, iChat, or various chat programs to stay connected with their significant others and friends throughout the day. From teens to retirees, people are connecting themselves in every possible, technological way.

How do I answer my child’s difficult questions about Sandy Hook?

There are multiple ways your child could have found out about the shooting at Sandy Hook: from TV, their friends, conversations in the community, or maybe you decided to talk with them about the tragedy. Regardless how they found out about it here are some thoughts to help you navigate the difficult questions your young child might ask.

Do I talk to my child about the shooting at Sandy Hook or not?

After hearing the horrific news of the Sandy Hook shootings, parents and teachers across America are left with the difficult decision of how to handle this tragedy with their children. We want to offer a few thoughts as people are making this difficult decision in schools, households, and in the community.

Help our kids process Sandy Hook

As adults with fully formed brains, we are able to contextualize the events in a timeline that helps insulate us from what we call secondary traumatization. Subconsciously (or sometimes consciously) we remind ourselves that we are safe, that this kind of thing happens rarely, or that we believe in the good of most people to help or rescue if there was a problem. However, children are not developmentally able to do that.

The Importance of Collaboration

We need to collaborate. We cannot help but collaborate. This is why we have offices, friends, family, business associates, Facebook, and Twitter. We are connected to others. In this world of connectedness, when was the last time you experienced intentional collaboration?

Families and the Holidays

Have you ever noticed how different family members handle the holidays? Some are very open and receptive to family getting together and enjoying one another’s time. They enjoy reminiscing about previous time spent with one another, and the hope of new and even happier holiday events resounds with them. However, not all individuals see the holidays as joyous. For those folks past holidays may recreate bad or unhappy memories which are hard to escape.

Supporting a Winning Team

So often we get so enthused to watch our favorite team, especially when they’re doing well. We cheer them on emphatically and always are hoping they’ll make it to the playoffs. Year after year we expect them to be as good, if not better, than the year before. It’s so easy to support them when they’re winning, but how about when things aren’t going so well? Do we continue to have the same high energy and confidence for them? So it can be with our relationships.