Reconnecting to Happiness: Embracing Embodiment in a Digital Age
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Chapter 1: The Tech-Driven Shift
In recent times, prominent figures have been paving the way toward a future where our ties to cyberspace and virtual environments deepen. For instance, in August, Elon Musk secured $280 million for Neuralink, a groundbreaking brain-computer interface primarily aimed at medical applications, such as aiding communication for those with paralysis, but ultimately intended for enhancements. During a 2020 event, Musk excitedly discussed the potential of implanting Neuralink in healthy individuals, promising abilities like enhanced vision and the capacity to hear symphonies in their minds. Essentially, Musk imagines a future where our brains integrate seamlessly with the internet and artificial intelligence.
Similarly, Mark Zuckerberg is advocating for a more virtual way of life, notably through the rebranding of Facebook to Meta. In 2021, he made substantial investments in creating a virtual universe known as the Metaverse. In a 2022 CNBC interview, Zuckerberg expressed his aspiration “to get about a billion people engaged in the metaverse, each spending hundreds of dollars on digital goods, content, and self-expression—be it virtual clothing for avatars or digital items for their virtual homes.” In essence, he foresees a dramatic transition of human existence from the tangible world to a virtual domain.
Facebook's now-defunct initiative to develop a non-invasive brain-computer interface was also driven by a similar vision, aiming to connect users with its platforms and the broader internet. The company invited us to envision a future where “the knowledge, entertainment, and functionalities of today’s smartphones are instantly accessible and entirely hands-free,” enabling meaningful connections regardless of distractions, geography, or physical limitations—essentially, a world of continuous technological connectivity.
Apple has also joined the race with its launch of the Apple Vision Pro, a virtual and augmented reality headset that “seamlessly integrates digital content into users’ physical surroundings,” allowing individuals to immerse themselves in their iPhone experiences.
However, despite the promise of these technologies, they raise a critical question: In a world where our attention is already heavily diverted towards cyberspace—often with detrimental effects on our well-being—is it prudent to further entangle ourselves with technology?
The likely answer is a firm “NO.” The genuine path to happiness may lie in the opposite direction—back towards a more embodied reality.
This article will delve into this assertion by first examining how and why we have drifted away from our embodied reality, and then outlining a path back to an upgraded form of embodied existence—Embodied Reality 2.0.
Section 1.1: The Era of Embodiment
Historically, humans were predominantly present in their embodied reality, as their surroundings demanded their full attention for survival, whether it was foraging for food, seeking companionship, or detecting lurking predators.
As time went on, technological advancements such as agriculture, animal domestication, and permanent housing allowed us to engineer our survival, reducing the immediate demands of our environment on our focus.
Consequently, our attention began to turn inward, marking the onset of what I will refer to as the Era of the Mind.
Subsection 1.1.1: The Era of the Mind
Our focus naturally gravitates toward the most pressing and prominent issues in our environment. Previously, these were the direct demands of our surroundings on our physical selves. However, with the engineering of survival into our environment, our inner dialogue—what I call "mind-chatter"—began to demand our attention.
As we can attest, a significant portion of our mind-chatter consists of past regrets and future anxieties. This inclination may appear harsh, but it is a remnant from our primitive days in the Era of Embodiment, where an active amygdala (the brain's fear center) and a responsive sympathetic nervous system (the fight-or-flight mechanism) were critical for survival. Early humans had to remain vigilant to detect a tiger in the bushes and escape its grasp.
These primal instincts have not adapted to modern life, which requires less vigilance. Therefore, they continue to search for threats and react to minor irritations—such as an irritable email from a colleague—as though they were significant dangers, a cognitive phenomenon known as negativity bias.
While there are undeniable advantages to focusing more on the mind than in earlier times, it has enabled developments in philosophy, mathematics, science, and other fields that might not have flourished otherwise.
However, research indicates that we spend an astonishing 47% of our time engaging in mind-wandering rather than focusing on our current tasks—a hallmark of the Era of the Mind. Alarmingly, this mind-wandering correlates negatively with happiness. Given our negativity bias, our minds frequently act as time machines, immersing us in past regrets and future fears. Interestingly, even positive thoughts, such as daydreaming about an upcoming vacation, can detrimentally influence our mood.
Consequently, many of us seek to escape our minds in various ways, often proportionate to the negativity of our internal dialogues, shaped by our upbringing and experiences, including past trauma. Some turn to substances like drugs, alcohol, or food to quiet the mental noise, hoping to regain some semblance of presence. Unfortunately, while these substances may provide temporary relief, they often inflict collateral damage on both body and mind.
Thus, there emerged a need for a more refined way to divert our attention from our minds without resorting to destructive means. Enter the Era of Technological Escape.
Section 1.2: The Era of Technological Escape
Over the past decade, we have entered a new era, characterized by the rise of smartphones and social media. These innovations offer fresh avenues for escaping the relentless mind-chatter.
During a 2016 lecture I attended, Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, compared smartphones to cigarettes—an addictive tool designed to alleviate the discomfort stemming from our restless thoughts.
Now, the moment our minds experience even slight unease, we can easily distract ourselves with our smartphones. Although this method of technological distraction may provide temporary relief, it appears to negatively affect our long-term well-being.
Emerging studies link excessive social media and smartphone use to rising mental health concerns such as anxiety, depression, addiction, and even suicidal tendencies. This trend is particularly alarming, as, like cigarettes, smartphones and social media are intentionally designed to be addictive.
Journalist Johann Hari compellingly argues in his book, Stolen Focus, that these technologies are engineered to commandeer our attention. Our inherent negativity bias primes us to focus more on stress-inducing content, like alarming headlines or FOMO-inducing posts. Consequently, algorithms designed to capture our focus continuously present us with content that worsens our negative thought patterns, compelling us to engage with our smartphones even more to escape the growing negativity of our thoughts. This creates a self-perpetuating cycle that increases our risk of adverse mental health outcomes.
Moreover, excessive smartphone use incurs opportunity costs. Research indicates that face-to-face interactions positively influence health and well-being, with in-person connections yielding greater benefits than virtual ones. Thus, the more time we devote to our smartphones, the less time we allocate to meaningful interpersonal interactions, further undermining our well-being.
Yet, as previously discussed, technology leaders like Musk and Zuckerberg are guiding us toward a future where a larger portion of our time and focus will be spent in virtual spaces. Many may be tempted to view this as the ultimate solution to our distress—a sanctuary where our attention can escape the clutches of mind-chatter, allowing us to attain peace.
However, the warning signs we have already observed regarding our current technological engagement urge us to reconsider diving deeper into the virtual realm in search of happiness. Instead, we must redirect our focus toward the elements of life that genuinely foster happiness—our embodied interactions with others and the world around us. It is time to embrace the Era of Embodiment, 2.0.
Chapter 2: The Era of Embodiment, 2.0
Rather than continuing to ascend the ladder of abstraction, away from our embodied reality in pursuit of happiness, what if we turned our attention back to our present experiences?
Scientific research supports the notion that true peace and happiness lie in the present moment. As previously mentioned, studies show that we experience lower happiness levels when we are preoccupied with mind-wandering—regardless of whether our thoughts are positive or negative—compared to when we are fully engaged in the task at hand.
Psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi famously introduced the concept of “flow,” describing the state of complete immersion in our current experiences. According to Csíkszentmihályi, this focus on the present is the “key to happiness.” Further neuroscientific studies corroborate this by revealing that depression and anxiety disorders are associated with heightened activity in the Default Mode Network (DMN), a brain circuit linked to self-referential thinking and mind-wandering. Conversely, practices such as mindfulness meditation, which train our attention on the present, have been shown to reduce DMN activity and enhance well-being.
Thus, anchoring our focus to the present emerges as a proven remedy for the distress caused by incessant mind-chatter. However, while the solution is straightforward, it is far from easy.
Our minds are evolutionarily wired to amplify fears and other attention-grabbing stimuli. As a result, redirecting our focus back to the present requires intention and practice, utilizing tools such as meditation, yoga, and other techniques. These methods help retrain our attention to consistently return to the present, gradually rewiring the brain to generate less attention-seeking thoughts.
By doing so, we can aim for a balance—an existence where we harness technology to engineer survival into our environment while freeing our attention to fully engage with the wonders of our world. Our ancestors could not afford to pause and admire a flower for fear of predation. In contrast, we enjoy relative safety, granting us the opportunity to appreciate the positive aspects of our embodied reality, from the beauty of nature to conversations with friends or the joy of art and exercise.
In conclusion, the quest for happiness does not lie in escaping into virtual realms or intensifying our engagement with digital technologies. Instead, it resides in redirecting our attention toward the richness of embodied reality, finding joy in the present moment, and cherishing the beauty that surrounds us. It is time to usher in the Era of Embodiment 2.0.