When I saw this picture on Facebook, I was immediately transported to the days when we got our first landline at home. We were in awe of such a magical device. How times have changed and what a different world we live in. Our phones have become so powerful and we’ve become completely dependent on them. And the sad part is that our behavior, our dependence, regardless of its consequences, has become acceptable, common, and normal. In a sense, we are normalizing a dependence.
Here is a lovely poem I came across
Technology Slaves
Jamie Jarrett
Why do we all prefer to stare
At a 42 inch flat screen glare
Manipulating our thoughts
Stealing our mind
Subliminally corrupting
The whole of mankind
Checking our phones
100 times a day
Leading our consciousness
Miles astray
Technology’s surpassing
Our human interaction
Perfectly designed
To cause a distraction
Can we not see
We’re being restricted
Gradually all
Becoming addicted
We need to slow down
Or we’ll all be convicted
Of being exactly
What Einstein predicted
Einstein’s supposed quote ” I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction, the world will have a generation of idiots”. I say supposed quote as there is no record of Einstein ever saying or writing anything close to those words, despite his papers and quotations being well-documented in several databases and works!
Regardless of who said it, the words do make a lot of sense. Technology has made life easier, safer, longer, and more enjoyable in numerous ways. The trick is finding a balance for how we use technology. Technology should be used as a way to complement our lives, not as a way to run our lives!
Kenrick Vaz 