Being a Human in a Technological Age

I don’t use internet at home. My smartphone is nearly three years old and I don’t have a TV. Instead I like playing theatre, reading books and meeting my friends — taking part in the real world. Isn’t this what makes us human?

Nevertheless some people look at me as if I were from another century when I explain that I only have internet access at university or Starbucks. Is it wrong to hope for a life with a little independence? Or that I really like to spend time with my friends — without them communicating over there phone all the time? It’s not that I believe that artificial intelligence or robots will take over the world one day — which is feared in Matt Haig’s “Echo Boy” — but I really think we should reduce our dependence on technology.

It is a fact that the failure of technology can cause real damage. Three months ago my laptop broke down, with basically everything on it: Short stories, photos, important stuff for university. I really don’t want to experience the breakdown of something really important, for example our nuclear power plants. And what about all these terrorists using the weaknesses of technology? Interesting on this topic by the way is the movie “The Net” with Sandra Bullock from 1995.

I don’t want to sound old-fashioned or write a blog against the internet or social media platforms, because I do like the internet and I am using Facebook, Twitter, Skype and Co. On the other hand I really don’t want you all to wake up one morning finding out that you actually missed the real life. So I will just go on living my life and hope that I could reach some of you, who maybe won’t freak out the next time their smartphone battery is empty. Something I have to learn myself…