Don't get me wrong, I LOVE technology. I am interested in the successful
and appropriate use and implementation rather than just having the latest
gizmo, gadget, or mobile app. I am interested in usability, accessibility, ethical,
privacy/security of technology. Especially as the world becomes more and more
digitally dependent and connected. Few people seem to be asking why, not
because they don't want or need the new technology,
but whether we are actually better off with it. And what is the human cost of having the new function or capability. Companies will always tout the benefits in
order to get us to buy their products. But they very rarely point out
the downsides unless there is a large public safety concern like texting
and driving.
I ride the bus to work every day, and have done for about 20 years. Back in the 90s, people on the bus would be reading newspapers and books, and would be listening to music on their Walkman or iPod. but even with this technology, people would be talking amongst themselves, with their friends or coworkers, or would strike up conversations about the news or the book that they were reading. Fast forward to today (in the 10s), and everyone has their heads down on their mobile devices. Conversations are rare...the bus is eerily quiet. Go to a restaurant today, and friends and families are face down in their mobile phones and not conversing over the dinner table. Mobile technology that connects us over distance seems to be disconnecting us face-to-face.
I am not the only person to notice this. In fact more and more people seem to be pointing it out, though it's amuzing to me that they report it like it is some amazing discovery. There certainly seems to be an addictive nature to mobile, at-your-fingertips information and communication. People acknowledge it, and the potential impact, but keep right on doing it. The original tech addiction was the Crack-berry, people addicted to their Blackberry phone with text and email delivered instantly, and all the time. The younger generation are often singled out as the addicted generation, but I have seen all generations doing it. Save the senior citizens who probably never experienced or saw a need for mobile data. But I predict that if they were shown it and allow to immerse themselves, many would succumb. And of course, there are those in any generation, that don't see the need and actively avoid the mobile technology. Probably fewer in the younger/ teen generation as there is so much peer pressure there.
The concern as I see it is the impact on human relationships, and the ability to reach out and relate to the human beings around us. To learn human relationships through social media, and online media, provides an often warped perspective, open to extreme and negative assumptions about others. This leads to rigid beliefs, judgement, name calling and isolation (HATE). When you get to meet people face to face, understand them and relate to them, there is the possibility of empathy, affinity and community (LOVE). Which would you prefer for the human race? So next time you are on the bus, or having dinner, put down the mobile technology, look around you, and reach out to someone you don't know, or reconnect to someone you do. It may be difficult at first. You may go into some level of tech withdrawal, and feel a bit awkward. Hang in there! You will work it through, and you will be surprised how much better you will feel.
I ride the bus to work every day, and have done for about 20 years. Back in the 90s, people on the bus would be reading newspapers and books, and would be listening to music on their Walkman or iPod. but even with this technology, people would be talking amongst themselves, with their friends or coworkers, or would strike up conversations about the news or the book that they were reading. Fast forward to today (in the 10s), and everyone has their heads down on their mobile devices. Conversations are rare...the bus is eerily quiet. Go to a restaurant today, and friends and families are face down in their mobile phones and not conversing over the dinner table. Mobile technology that connects us over distance seems to be disconnecting us face-to-face.
I am not the only person to notice this. In fact more and more people seem to be pointing it out, though it's amuzing to me that they report it like it is some amazing discovery. There certainly seems to be an addictive nature to mobile, at-your-fingertips information and communication. People acknowledge it, and the potential impact, but keep right on doing it. The original tech addiction was the Crack-berry, people addicted to their Blackberry phone with text and email delivered instantly, and all the time. The younger generation are often singled out as the addicted generation, but I have seen all generations doing it. Save the senior citizens who probably never experienced or saw a need for mobile data. But I predict that if they were shown it and allow to immerse themselves, many would succumb. And of course, there are those in any generation, that don't see the need and actively avoid the mobile technology. Probably fewer in the younger/ teen generation as there is so much peer pressure there.
The concern as I see it is the impact on human relationships, and the ability to reach out and relate to the human beings around us. To learn human relationships through social media, and online media, provides an often warped perspective, open to extreme and negative assumptions about others. This leads to rigid beliefs, judgement, name calling and isolation (HATE). When you get to meet people face to face, understand them and relate to them, there is the possibility of empathy, affinity and community (LOVE). Which would you prefer for the human race? So next time you are on the bus, or having dinner, put down the mobile technology, look around you, and reach out to someone you don't know, or reconnect to someone you do. It may be difficult at first. You may go into some level of tech withdrawal, and feel a bit awkward. Hang in there! You will work it through, and you will be surprised how much better you will feel.
