“A life full of shortcuts”:Technology is great and fascinating but at what price?

Anna Ielkin
Jul 22, 2017 · 3 min read

We are all surrounded with tech, we can have whatever we wants instantly. It’s amazing how life is made easier at all levels . We are following trends, enjoying the tech developed for all kind of purposes. Endless opportunities, no limits and it is far from being over. Everything seems to be possible and this part also scares me a bit sometimes.

We are addicted to apps, our smartphones, social medium. They are great tools :with our fingertips we control and design our life, we can express ourselves freely like never before and gain great exposure in a heartbeat, share our point of view from all over the world. We feel the need to show how we evolve, where we traveled, our selfies with our boyfriend or girlfriend, pictures of what we eat, the new suit of our little dog, how our pregnancy is growing. When I take a step forward I do understand that we want to share experience with our entourage and friends, be inspiring for others, engage with our “community” but it is also an ego-feeding practice, a way to show off. It means that we also want more likes, views and be the best, the most beautiful. A race we get into despite ourselves.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t blame people using tech; I do it myself but just noticing a certain loss of life, of enjoying it slowly towards a more superficial and privacy-free one. We don’t take time to read a full book, to go and buy a cloth at a store, we don’t take time to get to know people and we change our mind as quick as we change our shirt,We are going for apps to read summaries of book, we go online for shopping, we go on apps to find people based on pictures, we go online to get food as fast as possible and we also go online to see where our friends are going out to eventually join them in real-time. It gives us a feel of power.

Sometimes we feel we don’t have time so technology is here to help us, to manage, to prioritize, to get things done faster. We do have time. If you want to find time you find it, we just feel overwhelmed and seem to have a lot of tasks to do. There are applications for everything, your mood, your workout, your daily tasks, your sleep, your diet, your love life. In a certain way we are constrained to feel the need to control all facets of our life and optimize them.

I am doing my best to keep a free will and use technology cautiously. Our personal data and how they are exploited will be a growing issue. Today we feel we own the world and what’s around us.Will there be a time when it will turn against us, a time where we want to enjoy life and take things slow again? Finding a balance in our use of technology could help us feel human and down-to-earth at some point, but it is not easy — not everybody wants to find a balance maybe. Again it is a question of choice and vision.

Through this article I just want to express my concerned view about our future, how we live and lead our life. What is your viewpoint on this topic? Please share :).

Best,

Anna.

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