What a smart phone can't find: happiness

[Commentary] I watched a basketball game with one of our sons the other night. Every time I made a comment or asked an off-handed question he went to his iPad to summon statistics or video clips. We didn’t experience the game together in real time; we processed it search by search. Technology is changing the very nature of experience. It’s no longer linear. We don’t move from one moment to the next anymore. We live in several moments simultaneously. Our computers screens allow us to keep multiple windows open at once. Everything we do is instantly shareable, and everything we desire is searchable. But the one thing you can’t search for on even the smartest phone is happiness. For that you have to stop searching and simply be.

[Sollisch is creative director at Marcus Thomas Advertising.]