Meatspace - The Physical World & Environment

One little word to kick-start creativity - #5

Meatspace: noun

: the physical world and environment especially as contrasted with the virtual world of cyberspace.

“meatspace,” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meatspace.

As a GenXer, I remember growing up in a world where everything was analog or meatspace. We spent our free time outside, playing pretend games, riding bikes, and climbing trees. We had books, board games, and a small TV with a handful of channels when we were indoors. Summer vacations often involved visiting grandparents and if we were lucky weekend camping trips in their fifth-wheel RV.

Digital devices entered my life a little later and by my mid-teens, we had an Atari game console that played Pong. I remember watching MTV and Night Tracks music videos in High School, but my first real computer experience wasn’t until my early 20s. A few years later, I saw my first personal cell phone, weighing 2.5 lbs. And email? That was something that only happened at work.

Photo by Nastya Dulhiier on Unsplash

Early digital devices and technology had a common feature: you needed to interact with them physically to use them. When you turned them off, you could walk away and fully engage in the real world. But now, digital connections are so seamless that we can control them with a voice command. We carry pocket-sized phones everywhere, and smart devices track everything from our food and health to our work and social media blurring the lines between what belongs in the “real” world versus the “virtual” one.

It’s tough to disconnect and fully unplug these days, and not everyone sees unplugging as a good thing, especially when you’re surrounded by digital life with its temptations and distractions. As someone who grew up in the real, meatspace world and now lives in a digital one, I value both and try to find a balance between them.

Artist Point, WA - left 1970s film photograph and right 2020s iPhone photo

Two of my favorite sounds are the rustling of evergreen trees in the wind and the soothing sound of waves on the shore. White noise audio, even if recorded in a forest or on a beach doesn’t give me the sense of peace and grounding I feel when fully present in nature. Instead, it annoys me and defeats the purpose. If you’re someone who enjoys white noise you do you. It just isn’t my thing.

I don’t always turn away from technology though, my work days are online and I’ve come to depend on my digital devices. While I haven’t picked up a film camera in ages, my iPhone is always with me to capture the moments and I started Northwest Frame of Mind as an online space to share my favorite Pacific Northwest destinations. I find my balance between the two realities by simply enjoying the aspects I like and tuning out the rest in true GenX style.

*Note: Knowing that there will be some weekends I’m away from home or too busy to write, I’ve saved a few words to share when my time is short. This week’s word is from the 1/10/25 Merriam-Webster recap.*