Let’s Rethink Technology
A coin has two sides.
Since childhood, I was a staunch supporter of technology. I wanted to own all the gadgets — play station, fitness trackers, i-pod, walkman, smartphones, headphones you name it.
Like many others, I had an innate feeling that a new technology meant a more fulfilling life, and astonishingly, never questioned the bias.
I was a software engineer for close to three years. Throughout my stint, I experimented with new gadgets and software.
However, while reading Deep Work by Cal Newport, my illusion was shattered. For the first time, I questioned my prejudice and wondered that maybe technology has a downside too.
I will share some personal experiences where it appeared technology was assisting me, but actually, it wasn’t.
Here’s my new rational view of technology.
Technopoly
Technopoly is a book authored by Neil Postman in which he talks about how we surrender to technology, assuming that technology is always positive and of value.
Neil was a communication theorist and a New York city professor. In the early 1990s, during the computer revolution, Neil argued that we are sliding towards a complicated relationship with technology.
Yes, technology solves lots of problems, but it creates a few new ones too. The question that we often don’t bother asking is whether this trade-off between the problems solved and new ones created is worth it?
Just because it’s the latest tech we assume it’s good.
Dual-Sim Phones
The advent of dual-sim phones was revolutionary. Now one didn’t need to buy a separate phone to use another sim.
Some companies went even further making three and four sim phones. Everyone went bonkers as if more sims meant a more comfortable life.
While I understand that people like traders and shopkeepers may need multiple sims due to their nature of work, but does an average person really has a need for multiple sims?
When I bought a dual-sim phone, I purchased an extra sim because it seemed the only logical thing to do. Everyone else was doing the same.
Which imbecile buys a dual-sim phone and uses a single sim?
But as time passed, I realized that I only use my primary sim for all the calls and messages. Even for app registrations, I use the same number.
In fact, I hardly used the secondary sim. It’s like having a Facebook account. Everyone has one, yet hardly anyone uses it.
If you are using a multi-sim phone, ask yourself do you seriously need it?
Constant Notifications
A while back smartphones used to come with a dedicated notification light. In some, you could customize the light color depending on the apps.
I thought it was one of the most underrated features of a smartphone.
With the help of notification lights, one could stay updated with the latest updates 24/7.
Eventually, we became so mesmerized with our smartphones that the makers didn’t require notification lights to get our attention anymore, and they became redundant.
However, now I ask myself do I need to stay updated 24/7?
(In one of my articles I had asked a similar question with respect to the news.)
Turns out the answer is a big NO!
No one will post an Instagram story or send a Whatsapp text if they are involved in an accident or need any urgent assistance. If someone really needs me at a time of emergency, they’ll simply call me instead of posting a story about it.
These smartphone manufacturers bewitched us with their ad campaigns that staying updated 24/7 through their appealing smartphones was a privilege.
Nobody questioned them.
Well, it may not be as helpful as their claims but what’s the harm, right?
As it turns out checking our phones repeatedly and frequently is messing up with our concentrating abilities. We can’t focus on work for considerable spells and it affects our productivity at work.
Most of the industry experts disable notifications on their phones because of the detrimental effects they have.
Smartwatches
Another ubiquitous device nowadays is a smartwatch.
Most of us own either a smartwatch or a smart band.
We were told smartwatches were as good as mobile phones on our wrists. Being naive I was once again sold to the idea.
You could pick up a call, message, and basically do everything you could do on a phone.
One could book an Uber through a watch. Sounds great, but do we need it seriously? It’s more of a flaunt rather than functionality.
To make their bid more lucrative they unveiled the fitness aspects too. Constant heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, steps, calories, and whatnot.
All of us went bananas once again. And once again nobody was skeptical about their intentions.
Smartwatch notifications are more disorienting than smartphone notifications. Checking your wrist again and again while doing work is literally impairing.
It may sound glum but some experts like Simon Sinek believe most of these changes are irreversible. Once the threshold is crossed it will take you twice or thrice the original time to complete the same work.
Moreover, these latest gadgets are spying on us. We weren’t told this at the time of the sale.
Frankly, I use a Fitbit smart band to track my fitness goals. All my notifications are disabled except for calls, so my wrist doesn’t hum every other second.
Are We Using Technology or is Technology Using Us?
I believe this happens to the majority of us.
We pick up our phones for a quick google search. Before we know we inadvertently open WhatsApp. A few minutes into it, we are skimming through Instagram and Twitter feeds. Finally, we end up on Youtube watching conspiracy theories or funny cat videos.
The cycle usually ends with a guilty self-deprecating pep talk.
What supposedly should be a 2-minute search at max becomes a 1–1.5 hour of procrastination.
We assume we were using technology to our advantage, and end up being doped again and again.
Final Words
There have been several critics of technology but they are labeled crazy because their views are not in line with the capital greed.
Personally, I feel technology has more positives than faults.
Social media platforms provide a stage for anyone to become a creator, healthcare infrastructure has improved considerably, WFH and freelance culture has flourished due to technology, and so on.
However, there are things that can not be ignored like increased anxiety and depression among teens, rumors of people’s data being tracked, users being manipulated, fake news, and much more.
A coin has two sides. The same goes for technology. We are being ignorant if we only keep looking at the positives. It’s time we debate for the flip side too.
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