Episode Summary:

Welcome to Free Forum, a show that features conversations with people who offer pieces of the puzzle of “a world that just might work” -- provocative approaches to business, environment, health, science, politics, media and culture. 

In this episode, Terrence welcomes Emmy-nominated filmmaker, speaker and Webby Awards Founder Tiffany Shlain to the podcast. Terrence and Tiffany discuss her career path, the societal impact of technology, and the inspiration for her book, 24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week. They share their thoughts on how the digital age has impacted not just the way we live our lives, but how we think, feel and communicate with one another. Tiffany expounds on her family’s decade-long transformative practice of turning off screens one day each week for what she calls her Technology Shabbat. Finally, Terrence and Tiffany explore what the future could look like for our world if we act swiftly and resist the addiction that technology has inflicted on us as a people. 

What We Covered: 

03:05 – Introducing today’s guest, Tiffany Shlain 

05:52 – Tiffany’s career path 

09:10 – Two seminal events that shaped Tiffany’s life 

10:29 – The origin of the Webby Awards 

13:02 – A simple practice Tiffany has implemented in her life 

15:27 – Is technology our doom or deliverance? 

21:00 – Character Day 

23:51 – Breaking down the relationship between technology and society 

26:11 – How screens have become a 24/7 addiction 

30:49 – The stress that smart phones induce 

32:59 – The Five-Minute Journal 

34:20 – Brain science 

35:55 – Terrence speaks to his own usage of technology 

38:04 – Tiffany encourages the audience to participate in unplugging for a full 24 hours for four straight weeks 

40:52 – The beauty of the text Shabbat 

43:17 – Terrence and Tiffany speak to the newness of this technological phenomenon

46:45 – Terrence poses an interesting thought experiment to Tiffany 

55:01 – Terrence leaves the audience with one big idea 

Tweetables:

“You could say that I’ve really been focused on this issue of technology – what does it mean to be human, when does technology amplify us and when does it amputate us?” (08:39) 

“When you’re this distracted, it’s really hard to do big picture thinking.” (10:13) 

“I never expected, I never ever expected, that everyone would be just staring at screens all the time and not being present in the real world.” (11:49) 

“It is clear that what was begun as a mission to connect and unite mankind has mutated into a pernicious distortion machine that has disconnected mankind and put us at each other’s throats and, in doing so, has destroyed and is destroying institutions and knowledge that have taken centuries to develop.” (18:56) 

“It takes twenty-three minutes to regain your flow when you’ve been interrupted and just seeing someone else’s smart phone go off on the table will distract you.” (30:07) 

“It’s our favorite day of the week. We’re not giving up something. It’s literally our favorite day because we’re doing all things that you don’t really do anymore because you’re on your phone.” (39:37) 

“It’s such a liberating feeling when you realize you don’t need permission to tell everyone in your life, ‘Ya know, I’m gonna take twenty four hours completely off just to recharge.’” (42:52) 

“It’s not healthy. It’s just not healthy do be this available to everything and everyone at every moment.” (52:27) 

“I often say that civilization is going to die by convenience.” (53:32) 

Links Mentioned:

Terrence’s LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/terrencemcnally/ 

Terrence’s Website – https://aworldthatjustmightwork.com/ 

Terrence’s Email – [email protected] 

Tiffany’s Websites – https://www.letitripple.org/about/tiffany-shlain/ & http://24SixLife.com

Tiffany’s Twitter – @tiffanyshlain https://twitter.com/tiffanyshlain 

Tiffany’s Instagram – @tiffanyshlain https://www.instagram.com/tiffanyshlain/?hl=en 

Tiffany’s Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=623232620 

Tiffany’s Book – 24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week

Websites Mentioned:

https://front.moveon.org/ 

https://www.letitripple.org/character-day/ 

http://couragecampaign.org/ 

https://5calls.org/ 

https://350.org/ 

https://www.waituntil8th.org/ 

Books Mentioned: 

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power

24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week

Documentaries Mentioned: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX8GxLP1FHo