Time is our most valuable resource—a gift we share with our loved ones. Yet, it is continuously slipping away from us—every day, every hour, every second.
Before the digital age, we had more time and leisure. Digital platforms, particularly “zombification agents” like Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok, consume vast amounts of our time. For instance, while writing this post, I found myself:
- Watching a Guinness World Record video of people eating spicy peppers.
- Creating an image of a cat in response to a friend’s WhatsApp message.
- Reading a BBC article (via LinkedIn) about a new Google quantum computer chip.
Thirty minutes of my life vanished. None of these actions aligned with my goals today. In hindsight, it feels like a waste. The digital world often appears to be the enemy of time.
However, this isn’t the whole story. Digital tools also enable us to use time more effectively. For example, while preparing this post, I:
- I generated the hourglass image in 10 minutes (it could have taken just 1 minute, but I spent 9 minutes unsuccessfully trying to remove a person from the top of the hourglass. Ultimately, I decided to keep the figure as a metaphor for those who “push the sand down” and waste our time. Sometimes, GPT just knows best).
- Explored insightful content about time (I had to stop diving too deep!).
- I polished my writing using Grammarly.
- Refined my ideas with GPT Canvas.
Digital can be both a friend and a foe to time. Like any tool, its value depends on how we use it. Ultimately, we must take control of these tools, ensuring they serve our goals rather than dictate or waste our time.
