Technology: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

In today’s technologically advanced world, you are almost considered to be abnormal if you did not own a smart phone. This is because of the sheer convenience and power our little hand-held devices wield in our lives. The impact that such technology has on our day-to-day existence is beyond belief, and you would feel an enormous differential effect should you be even a moment without it near you. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest changes our little toys have had on our daily living, and was it all for better or worse?

The Good side of Technology

Naturally, mankind’s intention for technology has always been well-intended, and for a good cause. The benefits of technology are far too many to count. Keeping ourselves connected with those that matter, navigating our way through the world and accessing information on just about anything. Life has become so much easier in so many different ways, and we even have a whole new job market in the technology industry.

There are many examples of how we now do things so differently and with less effort thanks to technology. From using Google maps rather than asking someone for directions, to accessing information from the Internet about a topic of interest rather than asking an expert in the field, and even self-diagnosing oneself rather than seeing the doctor. Ultimately, the power of our smart phones has allowed us the convenience to access all the information we need anytime and anywhere, giving us the freedom and independence to essentially “do what we want when we want”.

The Bad side of Technology

As the laws of equivalent exchange state, to obtain something of value, something of equal value must be lost. With all the benefits that technology has given us, it would be difficult to imagine that humanity has lost something of “equal value” here. Nevertheless, a law is a law and this means mankind has most definitely lost things of equal value for this technological power. The reason being that we simply have not defined our sacrifice as having the same value as our technological advancements.

So what are some of the things we have lost in order to use this technology? For starters, we have lost a significant part of what makes people human, such as interacting with people in person regularly and talking with family and friends about day-to-day life rather than the latest thing we read about on our smartphones. It is also far more difficult to form new meaningful relationships as our need to connect is resolved through texts and messages. For example, a simple interaction with a stranger from the gym is near impossible with people’s ears in their music and eyes on their screens.

Most importantly perhaps, is that we have sacrificed the inner peace and sense of presence from doing the things we love, due to the demand and need to advertise what we are doing to our friends and families over the phone. We now do many things because of the status it gives us online, rather than how we innately feel about that activity. Examples include texting a friend that we are at the gym, rather than being present in the moment and focusing on our workout goals. We have ultimately sacrificed the passion of our activities for the idea or concept of our activities.

The Ugly side of Technology

So where to from here? How can we regain what we have lost, without giving up everything we’ve worked so hard for? This is where things get a little ugly. As humankind is becoming more and more used to living alongside technology, we are slowly but surely waking up to its negative side as well. As such, we try to set boundaries on our technology use, but ultimately end up relapsing after a period of time, due to the immense power and control the technology has over us.

Essentially, we want to ensure that we are the ones using technology, and not the other way around. This is why many of us may feel defeated after spending the day cooped up at home on our technological devices, having not enjoyed the light of day, or done more meaningful “human-like” activities throughout the day. It is ever-increasingly difficult to cultivate meaningful relationships not only because of our own demons we need to overcome in regards to overuse of technology, but also those around us who are affected by the same demons.

Final Remarks

To conclude, humanity has had its ups and downs with technology, and what was initially created to benefit mankind has evolved into a wrestling match for our own freedom. It is important to not put the blame on technology itself during our fight for freedom, but to cast the blame upon ourselves, who have lost some key components of our discipline and self-control which we’ve inherited from our non-technological ancestors. As we continue to live in this technologically advanced world, let us practice self-discipline every day, and reignite our passions for life by only using our creations as tools towards our own truths rather than a salvation from our responsibilities.