Comstock's magazine 0620 - June June 2020 | Page 49

to bother anybody. But this team-player
mentality causes them to burn out.”
To counteract this, he set up two
channels to distinguish urgent and
nonurgent messages. Team members
reach each other through a protected
channel, but no notifications come after
work hours. Recently, he had a conversation
with a stressed staff member and
devised a plan to turn off email at 6 p.m.,
putting it in do-not-disturb mode.
“What we’re seeing is the advent
of people creating their own boundaries,”
Clemmens says. “When they left
the office (before smart devices were
by our side), they got a break. Because
they don’t have that built in, they have
to create that boundary for themselves
artificially in order to stay balanced.”
Future tense
The need for boundaries is more vital
than ever. In the throes of the coronavirus
crisis, people are forced to spend
even more time with technology. This
is uncharted territory, so the effect
of this pandemic on tech addiction
remains to be seen.
“We’ve never had a multibillionperson
social experiment where this
has happened,” says Oleg Kaganovich, a
strategic operations executive, startup
investor and a member of Comstock’s
Editorial Advisory Board. “I think it will
take time to see what the implications
are. But this is absolutely going to make
it harder for some to create healthy
boundaries with their technology.”
Scientists say most people need social
interaction and human connection.
But the call for social distancing makes
online social networks more attractive,
even necessary. Therein lies the paradox:
The same technologies that people
were advised to take breaks from to instead
connect in the real world are now
an essential source to connect to the real
world. Not even just for socializing and
entertainment, but for making a living
through remote work or job hunting.
According to Kaganovich, companies
with an objective to help people
manage relationships will have a
bigger role. “While we’re depending
on technology to survive, get through
this and cope, we will also see new
forms of innovation,” he says. “Times
of crisis usually end up being a forcing
function for products and services
that no one would have thought of
prior to.”
As Kaganovich points out, some of
these products and services would likely
address those moments when people
are cut off from one another and help
maintain a healthy state of mind.
Russell Nichols is a freelance writer
who focuses on technology, culture and
mental health. His work has appeared
in The Wall Street Journal, The Boston
Globe, Governing magazine and Government
Technology. On Twitter
@russellnichols.
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June 2020 | comstocksmag.com 49