Technology can be both a dream and a nightmare. When technologically-advanced systems and devices operate smoothly, they can enhance our work efficiency, save us time and effort, enable us to connect and communicate instantaneously, and be a source of recreation and enjoyment. When malfunctioning, they can and do provoke frustration to the point of pulling one’s hair out.
In 1844, Karl Marx wrote that “religion is the opiate of the people” to suggest that religion, like a drug, dulls one’s senses and provides a false sense of security and well-being. His point was that religion and its promise of a heavenly afterlife for the deserving encouraged passive acceptance by the masses of the oppression they endured from their rulers.
Although technology may or may not dull one’s senses, it also acts like a drug through its addictive allure. Of course, we have all heard or read stories regarding those addicted to the Internet for pornography, game-playing, or other purposes. But, most of us consider these cases to be extreme, people with addictive personalities either substituting or adding to their individual lists of dependencies.
Consider, however, your own reliance on technology. What emotions do you experience when your computer, cell phone, Mp3 player, GPS system, automobile, or other device malfunctions? If you are like me, you probably experience anything from concern to panic or from frustration to rage.
Technology has a way of becoming ingrained in our lives. Try to imagine what your life would be like without an automobile, television, or computer. Or, consider a life without the convenience of telephones, cell phones, email, text messaging, or the Internet. Depending upon your age, you may remember a time when these technologies and conveniences were not a part of your life. Nonetheless, how much have they enhanced and become an integral part of your life today?
The degree to which you utilize and come to believe that you cannot live without technology indicates your individual level of dependency. And yet, how technically proficient are you? There was a time in the not too distant past in which individuals could be largely self-sufficient from a technical perspective. Before automobiles, common people had the technical know-how to build and maintain their own wagons and care for their horses. Their communications were either direct (spoken) or written. In either case, they were fully capable of controlling their means of communication and delivering their messages. Can you build and maintain your own automobile? Are you capable of building a land-line or cellular based communications network? Can you write the operating systems and applications, produce the components, and assemble the computer and networking hardware required for surfing the Internet or sending emails or instant messages?
As technology advances, we as individuals grow in dependence while becoming ever more distant from the capacity to develop or maintain such technology. If a catastrophic event occurred tomorrow and you and a small group of people you know were the only survivors, what kind of existence would you have? Do you even think it remotely possible that you could in your lifetime rebuild the world in the way in which you knew it prior to the catastrophe?
Just how addicted to technology are you? If you want to find out, try this simple experiment. Go to a remote area, bringing no tools, tents, food, communications devices, or other conveniences with you. Once at the site, use nothing but your ingenuity to provide yourself with food and shelter.
How long would it take you to get back into your car and go home?
.
I think there needs to a balance between complete reliance upon technology and use of it to enhance our daily lives. This past Christmas, I went to a family function where literally every child, teen, and young adult was, at one point, plugged in to some device, all at the same moment, with a screen or headphones.
Things got worse when I was speaking with one of their mothers and she whipped out her cell phone to text a friend right in the middle of our conversation. I excused myself and got up to leave; I’m sorry, but that was rude of her. She said, “Oh, don’t go, I’m only texting a friend!”
Looking forward to getting more and more information from your site, I found it on Google and it is turning into a site I visit on a regular basis for info and insight when writing articles as they relate to my web site.
Hello. Great job. This is a great story. Thanks!
Wonderful!
Hey, awesome site! Keep it up! I will be difinatley be coming back in the near future =)
You know this is a very good post. i hadn’t thought about this for quite a while….thanks,hope to see more of your posts soon
Im obliged for the blog. Thanks Again. Cool.
interesting post, pretty much covered it all for me, thanks.
Found this hub on web, useful, tnx
Nice post, glad to see it, tnx for your work
Good post. Hope to see a lot more excellent posts in the future.
A well written story.
AOL led me to this blog post, and it is exactly what I was looking for.
Hey very good weblog!! Man .. Wonderful ..
Awesome .. I’ll bookmark your website and take the feeds also…
nice !
Having read this, I thought it was rather informative. I appreciate you taking the time and effort to put this informative article together. I once again find myself personally spending way too much time both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worthwhile!
Hello. Great job. I did not expect this. This is a great story. Thanks!