Technology: When Our Relationship with New Technology Devices Goes Overboard

‘Technology: You can’t live with it, You can’t live without it’. Doesn’t it hold a truth?

Nowadays, with the ever evolving progress of the digital world and with networks connected at ever increasing speed and capillarity, we are assisting for the first time in history at the possibility to metaphorically ‘grab the world in our hand’. Never before, there’s been the chance of a global, and instantaneous spreading of news and information in every field of human knowledge and culture. Never before, through the development of social networking tools, there’s been the chance to have family and friends just a ‘click’ away from us. Never before, we had the chance to be everywhere going nowhere.

Undeniably, the benefits of the new technology are innumerable and it’s certainly hard to enlist them in this short sketch. However, as with every good medicine, the remedies to life problems offered by the digital world must operate within guidelines which should be strictly followed by users to prevent undesirable side effects. Although not always easy to detect, signs of adverse side effects, mostly collectable under the category of ‘addiction’ may become manifest. This happens when our relationship to technology devices goes overboard.

Studies show that over-usage of new technology can make us more passive, ‘adrenalinic’ and more neurotic in general. Submerged in the virtual world, we risk to lose touch with the real one. The average level of attention is reduced to less than five minutes. The overall deficit of attention is attributed to the frenzy imposed by the technological life, mixing the virtual with the real life in real time. If we let this mix to happen, we might end up to become enslaved to tools which could have instead enhanced our freedom, if only properly used.

Lack of attention and easy distractions are not only detrimental to many human activities but they also contribute significantly to increase the number of cars’ accidents. According to the National Academy of Engineering, this problem is likely to get worse because drivers’ distractions might increase with rapid advances in wireless, computer and sensor technologies (Regan et al., 2008)

But there’s more! Many of our ‘hi-tech’ devices are becoming more than simple ‘cult’ objects. Blackberry, or its counterpart, iPhone  and other novel digital tools are on the ‘Must-Have’ list of an increasing number of people. They are assuming new social meanings. They are actually becoming some sort of  ’status symbol’.  So, we might run the risk to attach our self-worth to them, with all the undesirable consequences. Who owns them, might feel to be considered important by others and could isolate him/herself from the social context or even worse could indirectly and unconsciously belittle others or let them feel inadequate. In this way, something that has the greatest potential to unite people might create, instead, distance and separation.

The comforting ‘news’ is that  whatever the problem, help can be found. Identifying the problems is already half of their solution. However, the greatest secret with Technology is learning ‘How to live with it and Without it’