Twitter, BlackBerry Messenger and Facebook are the microwave meals of human communication: quick, cheap and efficient.
Face-to-face communication, however, is far more psychologically nutritious, rendering the digital options limp, lame and lifeless by comparison. Watching a friend's face light up in response to your deftly delivered punch-line can never be replaced by colons and parentheses masquerading as emotional responsivity :).
The restaurant is one of the last bastions of genuine, organic face-to-face social intercourse. Sadly, even here, there are increasing numbers of diners insisting on a side of Blackberry with every meal.
It's particularly sad to watch a young couple out for a candle-lit meal, as both stare lovingly into their smart-phones while frantically thumbing messages to whoever, wherever. On what level are these two individuals actually even together? Sadder still, however, is when only one partner engages in this behaviour, the other waiting patiently for scraps of left over attention. Heart breaking.
Just as the more socially responsible corporations went smoke-free in advance of legislation, perhaps it's time for forward-thinking business leaders to begin rolling out tech-free policies. Is a blanket prohibition on digital communication devices at the dining table in order?
The proprietors of such establishments can proclaim themselves Wi-Fi-free, leveraging genuine human sociability as a USP (unique selling point). Rather than touting "Free Internet" they proudly declare themselves "Internet Free". Okay, it might be bad for business initially, but such moves are aimed at promoting psychological health and reviving the dying art of in vivo human sociability.
This might sound a little far fetched, but this is actually already starting to happen. Several hotels, mainly in the US, are attempting to entice visitors with promises of no internet and no mobile-phone coverage - the ideal place to unplug form a wired world. The digital detox.
A recent study, The World Unplugged, explored this issue of our increasing and unhealthy dependence on all things digital. The study, lead by the International Center for Media and the Public Agenda, involved 1,000 students from 10 nations all tasked with going 24 hours without accessing any of their usual digital devices; no video games, no internet, no phones, no TV, no iPod. When the unplugged participants later wrote about their experiences, they generally described feelings of boredom, isolation, confusion and distress.
One participant from Lebanon wrote: "I felt as though I was 'lost' in a void. It was a very unusual and uneasy feeling. I felt like I was dis-attached from the world completely, as if everyone around me was doing something but I was 'left behind'."
But there was an upside to unplugging too: many of the participants described how they visited previously under-appreciated grandparents and engaged in deeper, more meaningful conversations with friends and family. Instead of watching TV together, one couple described experiencing the simple joy of going for a walk. The common thread was that for many, digital abstinence actually lead to profound improvements in the quality of their social contacts.
No one is trying to un-invent the internet; digital media is undeniably beneficial, in the same way that food is. But just as gluttony and poor dietary practice can have severe consequences for physical health, so too the overconsumption of digital content can detrimentally effect our psychosocial health.
There's no shortage of guidance on how to eat healthily. There is, however, very little guidance on healthy digital media consumption. Much more research is required to help us better understand our increasingly digital diet. What exactly are our digital content consumption habits doing to our minds? How are our online relationships impacting our real ones?
These questions are pertinent for the children growing up today, those who have been overly immersed in technology from a young age.
Such questions are also particularly relevant for the UAE which has one of the highest internet penetration rates in the region, and is ranked 23rd in the world on the Network Readiness Index, a measure of information technology capacity.
We should keep in mind that, as we binge on digital content, we often starve each other of vital human attention. Attention, like food, is a finite resource. Too much is wasteful, but too little can have dire psychological consequences.
Justin Thomas is an assistant professor of psychology at Zayed University
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Company name: Play:Date
Launched: March 2017 on UAE Mother’s Day
Founder: Shamim Kassibawi
Based: Dubai with operations in the UAE and US
Sector: Tech
Size: 20 employees
Stage of funding: Seed
Investors: Three founders (two silent co-founders) and one venture capital fund
Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Five films to watch
Castle in the Sky (1986)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Only Yesterday (1991)
Pom Poki (1994)
The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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Fixtures
Sunday, December 8, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – UAE v USA
Monday, December 9, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – USA v Scotland
Wednesday, December 11, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – UAE v Scotland
Thursday, December 12, ICC Academy, Dubai – UAE v USA
Saturday, December 14, ICC Academy, Dubai – USA v Scotland
Sunday, December 15, ICC Academy, Dubai – UAE v Scotland
Note: All matches start at 10am, admission is free
