In the game of football an encroachment violation occurs when, before the snap, a defensive player illegally crosses the line of scrimmage and makes contact with an opponent or has a clear path to the quarterback. To encroach means to advance beyond proper, established, or usual limits. It can also mean to intrude, infringe or trespass upon the property or rights of another especially stealthily or by gradual inroads or advances.  

In my 4-year journey toward greater life-balance I have worked diligently to curtail and balance my use of technology. Digital Minimalism and A World Without Email by Cal Newport have greatly influenced my attitude toward and my use of technology. But lately as advances such as ChatGPT, AI and Adobe Dub Dub Dub, come at us at warp speed, I am having to ask myself is it Technology Rules! (Picture me thrusting both fists in the air) or Technology Rules – the need to reevaluate and reset my “rules of engagement” with technology?

I was highly disappointed by the results of a recent audit I conducted of my own habits. It revealed that I was losing ground after having made many positive changes a couple of years ago. If technology represents the defensive football player I mentioned earlier and I represent the quarterback, then technology has a clear path to me, and I am in danger of getting sacked for a loss. I need to reset my technology rules to stop the encroachment.

Here is a personal example. I post three “shorts” a week on You Tube and my longer post 4 to 5 minutes in length each Friday. Since I was already creating the You Tube “shorts” I decided to go ahead and post them on Instagram as well. To do so I had to establish an IG account. No problem, right? Simply upload them to IG for wider exposure. What’s the issue?  Well after posting on Instagram and waiting for the reel to upload and then just logging off, I soon found myself spending an inordinate amount of time scrolling through the feed long after my post had finished uploading. I’m embarrassed to confess that my time on Instagram has gradually gone higher and higher each week over the past two months. This is particularly disturbing after previously recommending to those who read my posts to curtail the number of social media platforms they are on and to set and enforce limits.

Other than The Rest Stop website I am only on You Tube and Instagram and don’t post on or use any other social media platforms. Before you pat me on the back and say, “Good for you only 2 platforms”, let’s see what happens when I establish and implement some new rules of engagement. I am going to monitor closely time spent on IG the next several weeks. If it doesn’t come down drastically, I’m going to discontinue Instagram posts and close down the account. What I’ve discovered is how gradual and stealthily the encroachment can occur. A few scrolling actions turns into a few minutes, and before you know it minutes can turn into hours.

As technology continues to pervade and invade our lives, we need to understand its’ power, both its’ redeeming and corrupting influence and and make sure it isn’t Technology Rules! But instead that we establish and maintain technology rules for our own protection and well-being. I’m resetting my “rules of engagement” How about you? Conduct an audit and see if you need to consider making any changes.

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