Technology has delivered many blessings, Levy acknowledges. Medical breakthroughs, instant information on world events and a dizzying array of entertainment options are all available thanks to advance in technology. But that same technology has sped the pace of our lives, pulling people in multiple directions and fragmenting leisure time, he said
"The feeling of less time in our lives is extremely real," said McKibben, a former staff writer for The New Yorker magazine who gave the opening address at the convention. "There's a constant, endless flow of information. But one is allowed not to bathe in this all the time," he add