NEW: TIFFANY SHLAIN - 24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week
Episode Summary:
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Welcome to Free Forum, a show that features conversations with people who offer pieces of the puzzle of \u201ca world that just might work\u201d -- provocative approaches to business, environment, health, science, politics, media and culture.\xa0
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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\u2019s 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.\xa0
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What We Covered:\xa0
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03:05 \u2013 Introducing today\u2019s guest, Tiffany Shlain\xa0
05:52 \u2013 Tiffany\u2019s career path\xa0
09:10 \u2013 Two seminal events that shaped Tiffany\u2019s life\xa0
10:29 \u2013 The origin of the Webby Awards\xa0
13:02 \u2013 A simple practice Tiffany has implemented in her life\xa0
15:27 \u2013 Is technology our doom or deliverance?\xa0
21:00 \u2013 Character Day\xa0
23:51 \u2013 Breaking down the relationship between technology and society\xa0
26:11 \u2013 How screens have become a 24/7 addiction\xa0
30:49 \u2013 The stress that smart phones induce\xa0
32:59 \u2013 The Five-Minute Journal\xa0
34:20 \u2013 Brain science\xa0
35:55 \u2013 Terrence speaks to his own usage of technology\xa0
38:04 \u2013 Tiffany encourages the audience to participate in unplugging for a full 24 hours for four straight weeks\xa0
40:52 \u2013 The beauty of the text Shabbat\xa0
43:17 \u2013 Terrence and Tiffany speak to the newness of this technological phenomenon
46:45 \u2013 Terrence poses an interesting thought experiment to Tiffany\xa0
55:01 \u2013 Terrence leaves the audience with one big idea\xa0
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Tweetables:
\u201cYou could say that I\u2019ve really been focused on this issue of technology \u2013 what does it mean to be human, when does technology amplify us and when does it amputate us?\u201d (08:39)\xa0
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\u201cWhen you\u2019re this distracted, it\u2019s really hard to do big picture thinking.\u201d (10:13)\xa0
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\u201cI 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.\u201d (11:49)\xa0
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\u201cIt 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\u2019s throats and, in doing so, has destroyed and is destroying institutions and knowledge that have taken centuries to develop.\u201d (18:56)\xa0
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\u201cIt takes twenty-three minutes to regain your flow when you\u2019ve been interrupted and just seeing someone else\u2019s smart phone go off on the table will distract you.\u201d (30:07)\xa0
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\u201cIt\u2019s our favorite day of the week. We\u2019re not giving up something. It\u2019s literally our favorite day because we\u2019re doing all things that you don\u2019t really do anymore because you\u2019re on your phone.\u201d (39:37)\xa0
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\u201cIt\u2019s such a liberating feeling when you realize you don\u2019t need permission to tell everyone in your life, \u2018Ya know, I\u2019m gonna take twenty four hours completely off just to recharge.\u2019\u201d (42:52)\xa0
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\u201cIt\u2019s not healthy. It\u2019s just not healthy do be this available to everything and everyone at every moment.\u201d (52:27)\xa0
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\u201cI often say that civilization is going to die by convenience.\u201d (53:32)\xa0
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Links Mentioned:
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Terrence\u2019s LinkedIn \u2013 https://www.linkedin.com/in/terrencemcnally/\xa0
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Terrence\u2019s Website \u2013 https://aworldthatjustmightwork.com/\xa0
Terrence\u2019s Email \u2013 temcnally@mac.com\xa0
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Tiffany\u2019s Websites \u2013 https://www.letitripple.org/about/tiffany-shlain/ & http://24SixLife.com
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Tiffany\u2019s Twitter \u2013 @tiffanyshlain https://twitter.com/tiffanyshlain\xa0
Tiffany\u2019s Instagram \u2013 @tiffanyshlain https://www.instagram.com/tiffanyshlain/?hl=en\xa0
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Tiffany\u2019s Facebook \u2013 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=623232620\xa0
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Tiffany\u2019s Book \u2013 24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week
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Websites Mentioned:
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https://front.moveon.org/\xa0
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https://www.letitripple.org/character-day/\xa0
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http://couragecampaign.org/\xa0
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https://5calls.org/\xa0
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https://350.org/\xa0
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https://www.waituntil8th.org/\xa0
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Books Mentioned:\xa0
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The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power
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24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week
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Documentaries Mentioned:\xa0
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX8GxLP1FHo\xa0