Is Technology a Curse or a Blessing?
Today’s post is a writing challenge. This is how it works: participating bloggers picked 4 – 6 words or short phrases for someone else to craft into a post. All words must be used at least once and all the posts will be unique as each writer has received their own set of words. That’s the challenge, here’s a fun twist; no one who’s participating knows who got their words and in what direction the writer will take them. Until now.
For this challenge, my words are:
disk ~ idling ~ bleach ~ impatient ~ technology ~ soiled
They were submitted by: http://dinoheromommy.com/
Although (or because) I use it daily, I have a complicated relationship with technology. Though it has made our lives much easier, it also creates challenges. We have come to expect instant gratification. Because computers have automated simple tasks, our minds are free to race ahead, to our next goal. I think this adds to some of the anxiety in today’s world. We have all come to expect instantaneous results. Since there is so little we need to wait for on a daily basis, we easily become impatient, even when things happen at a normal pace.
I blame technology for our reduced attention spans. We have become a society that is very bad at idling. We struggle with having nothing to do. Everywhere you go, people who are not actively engaged in a task are looking at their phones. Even when we plan to do something, these things are often passive. Even those with no interest in anything that may be on their phone screen have their heads down, appearing to be engrossed. People think it is “weird” to be doing nothing. Our phones have given us a way to hide in plain sight.
Besides our phones, many household appliances are becoming “smart.” There are now refrigerators that can tell us what is contained inside and machines that not only wash but now also FOLD our clothes. New washing machines can determine the size of a load of laundry and therefore how much water is needed. I guess it is just a matter of time before one is invented that can also determine how soiled the items are and whether and how much bleach is needed to get them clean.
I am continually amazed at the rate with which technology keeps changing. I am old enough to remember room-sized computers and saved my first published stories to a floppy disk which filled up rather quickly. Now I can carry many novels (and movies, too) in the palm of my hand, and have instant access to them. I am interested to see where we will go next. What unbelievable things will our grandchildren have in their everyday lives? Is there anything that can be invented today that would truly surprise us? Perhaps we are losing something there, the capacity to be amazed.
I have to agree with you. Although there’s so much I love about technology (LOVE knowing my boys have cell phones, especially when they first started driving, I knew they could get help or get me if needed), I truly am afraid that “stop and smell the roses” is becoming a thing of the past.
Yes, stopping to observe our surroundings happens less frequently. We can make sure it doesn’t disappear by making an effort though. I don’t think all is lost yet!
Great use of your words!
You’re so right, we’re all about instant gratification. I know I am. I need technology to work, and if wifi is down, I get angry!
My mind is always on. A dozen tabs are active in my brain ALL.THE.TIME, but this was the case long before smart phones.
I was talking to a teacher today. He makes it his responsibility to educate students on the dangers of gadget use. They probably roll their eyes at him, but still! Good to know!
Me too! Me too! I hate how much I have come to rely on technology and the way it effects me when it doesn’t work the way I want/need it to. Sometimes we just have to unplug.
I totally get what you are saying B U T — it is the new technology that launched my new career at 68! And I am also old school enough to realize there has to be balance and insist on it with the grandkids, especially since they are being raised on a farm!
I agree, technology is great but at the same time it can be a curse.
Blessing and curse is right! Though I do love my Kindle. I never run out of things to read!
I do love my technology and, like you, wonder what will be invented next! Did you know they tried to close the patent office in the mid 1840s because everything possible had been invented? Yow!
I didn’t know that. I wonder what they would think today.
Sorry I’m late. I’ve been moving and just had the internet installed a couple of nights ago. I love technology, but it does create problems. Look at all of the crazy things happening with that new game Pokemon gold. I think the next big thing will be deliveries by drone and then who knows where that will go. That and passengers to outer space.
I’m impressed that you kept up with this during a move – that is brave! I’m not ready for drones, that idea makes me a bit uncomfortable.