Life (Part 2)

Well, now I understand.
I understand why I am having trouble retrieving words I know like the back of my hand.
I've just been watching an episode of Life (Part 2) on public broadcasting.
It's the fault of the digital age.
First, I am being referred to as a digital immigrant - someone who was later in life when the digital age came to be. I'm not ashamed of that. I proudly refer to myself as an analogue girl in a digital world.
Second, the generations that followed me are called digital natives. Suddenly, I have become a second class citizen. As if being a woman weren't second class enough in a still tenacious patriarchal culture.
Third, it is changing our brains, both native and immigrant digitals, that information and connection is constant and instantaneous.
Even when we walk away from our digital connections - take a day off from email, try not to fret about not posting a blog post for over a week, turn off the iPhone - our brain is waiting, anxiously, and in the process of stressing out, it produces cortisol which -
 - yes, we know, leads to obesity, but what you may not have known, is it - shrinks the memory centers of the brain!
Well, I'll be unplugged for the next three days. I can guarantee, I won't be able to totally not know what's going on. But I'll turn my phone, not to vibrate, but to "off" for most of the day except to check in with mi esposo in the morning and at night.
And now, a real live creature, my dog, wants my attention. At least I can make eye contact with her.