Making it Personal

As a teacher and tech guy, I spent years pushing the boundaries on technology in education to engage our minds and bring the world closer together. The past year has shown me those boundaries need some reinforcement.

The mindlessness with which we are operating undermines our happiness and our future. The information overload, speed of life, and silos of self-interest push us to fly by the seat of our pants, and we’re giving into it out of sheer expediency or exhaustion or even exasperation (take your pick).

As a result, here’s three things I intentionally decided in 2025 regarding:

Being Available

My boundary: 

My biggest pet peeve of 2025 has been local businesses, agencies and even doctor’s offices sending all incoming calls to voicemail so that we are forced to leave a message and wait for them to call back at their convenience. It’s the next insane step in all the voice-menu technologies that force us to validate who we are and tell us all kinds of extraneous information to pre-empt them from having to recite their hours, location and policies. The final rub? When they suggest we should use their website instead of calling, followed by an endless drone of Muzak. 

What’s gotten lost: 

Automation is great until it robs us

of the opportunity to be fully present and fully human with one another. By the time I place a call to an org, I’ve already hit their website, policies and FAQs and I am seeking specialized help from someone who understands. Sending me to voicemail so I have to wait for hours and even days for a call back is for their convenience, not mine.

My response: 

I’m divesting myself of any org where I can’t reach a live person. Life is too short to be treated like a non-sentient being, and I refuse to act like one.

Being Present

My boundary: 

More and more people sign up for virtual events and then send their AI-based notetakers in their place. I tried to be tolerant when these bots first started showing up until it got to the point that they were cluttering the chat box with introductions, requests for permissions, and (cringe) announcements when they could no longer record because their owner didn’t pay the subscription renewal fee (eyeroll). It interrupts the experience for those attending live, and robs those who do not attend in person of the value we offer in hosting these events.

What’s gotten lost: 

These are not lectures or press conferences that require future recall of facts. These events are designed to be interactive, and when the educators leading them have participants contribute  their experiences and understandings, it enriches the learning for everyone. When this gets disrupted, events are reduced to just another sit-and-get information session.

My response: 

Bots are now refused at our events, not because we're anti-notetaker, but because we're pro-human interaction.

Following Through

My boundary: 

I often have people ask a mutual connection to introduce us, but as soon as I respond, they tell me to go find time on their calendar, as if they’re doing me a big favor sending me off to schedule the opportunity to speak with them. It smacks of self-importance, as if they're too busy to speak in the moment, and when I don’t follow through and schedule with them, I wonder if they even notice, or if they’re so mindlessly preoccupied that it never dawns on them. Bottom line: how interested are they, really?

What’s gotten lost: 

Don’t get me wrong; when technology can make scheduling easier I’m all for it. But when it takes the intentional interpersonal exchange out of introductions, the first impression is nothing but a loud THUD. One of the best ways to get to know someone is the small talk that takes place discussing time, schedules and workload.

My response: 

I took my calendar link off my email signature. I’m not pushing back on the technology; I’m pushing forward the human element in real relationships.

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If technology is not serving us as humans, what’s the point?

If it’s actually pushing us to be less available, present and responsive, we need to push back.

The result of giving into impersonal treatment is its perpetuation; an insidious scope-creep of soul-crushing detachment, isolation, loneliness, and emptiness. Think about it, when do you feel more alone than when you're sitting on hold waiting to hear the voice of a real person on the other end?

Technology is only as “smart” as the people informing it, and only as resilient as the human spirit it serves.

So, as we head into the new year, I invite you to join me in reclaiming our everyday life experience as a more genuinely personal one. I refuse to be complicit in anything that robs us of our humanity.

How about you?

Walter McKenzie is a career educator and co-founder of The Worthy Educator. Lately he's been reflecting on his year, celebrating the holidays with family, catching up with the people he loves, and looking forward to a robust year ahead. Learn more here.