Noise...clutter...confusion...distraction

The world's overflowing with it.

My email inbox is crammed full of it.

And my head's pounding because of it.

I-Tunes, MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Google, Flickr, Email, Ebay, Instant Messaging, GarageBand, Skype etc...etc....etc... Yep, for some of us playing in our brave new digital playground can sometimes seem like hard work.

But how about the younger 'rip-mix-burn' generation? Surely, they can navigate successfully through all this stuff. Yes, they probably look at people like me and think that our idea of multi-tasking is reading our favourite photography mags on the loo. And while we’re on the loo they're on the net simultaneously downloading tunes to their mobile phone, uploading videos to You Tube, having multiple IM conversations and checking out their favourite social networking sites...yep, they can multitask with ease and elegance.

“Hey, can you take our picture?” A group of four members of Hastings 'i-generation' were calling me over. They were slightly tipsy but totally cool. They wanted an impromptu photo shoot! Cool poses, thumbs up, big smiles. Snap! They had made a nice shot...that's what they wanted. But I wanted something different. So, I kept on talking and joking whilst keeping a hungry eye on an opening.

While three of the guys seemed to have boundless energy, my subject was silent, stationary, looking upwards. Yes, that's what I wanted! I loved the idea of him just losing himself in his thoughts and dreaming his big dreams. Who knows what he was thinking but just for a few precious moments he had successfully managed to filter out all the rest. The constant noise...clutter...confusion...distraction had suddenly evaporated leaving him alone with his dreams.

Dream on 'Young Hastings'...