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Articles: My Thoughts | Technology makes me think
- Mrs. Sree Malladi
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Last week we met with an accident and our car was damaged. Since last week we were using public transport. I feel myself uncomfortable without a car and find it really difficult to get groceries and going to office and library. I am used to car for only past 5 years. I think myself is this me who managed my life without a car for 24 years and now complaining that I am unable to go out without it?
Sometimes I worry that people (myself included) are becoming too dependent on technology. I think about my grand parents and how they grew up on a farm with no electricity or running water, yet they thrived. I think about all the knowledge they accumulated about living off the land, and how this knowledge is becoming a lost art. If we were ever to become thrown into another great depression and people had to suddenly have to fend for themselves, I wonder how many people would survive.
Once when I am in a shopping mall one of the cash register is not working because of some problem in the system. I can see the frustration in the eyes of that young girl near the counter as she has to do the calculations by calculator. I am sure most of the young people do not even know how to make change without a calculator… that kind of annoys me.
Last month because of some water pipe damage our university got flood out and our computer room was one of them. We don’t have internet access and email for about 2 days. Although we were in office its like we are missing something because we don’t have internet access and email. I just wonder how many people out there in recent years wrote a letter to there parent instead of email. I can hear from almost one in ten about the scams that are going through the internet but still I prefer paying my bills through internet which really saves my time and energy at the same time I fear about the safety.
One day when I am giving a presentation in my office along with my manager and director, suddenly a popup window appeared with some junk messages and sex symbols I was snafu and my pulse went down. Then I recovered my self and we all laughed at that popup – which took me at least 4 min to close that window. I thought that day if the same thing happens in front of my little boy who is 8 year old what questions I would have faced? Since then I decided to sit with him if he is going to browse the internet.
I liked the webcam technology which was really good for people like me who stay abroad. I use this almost every week to see my parents and siblings using webcam. When my sister gave birth to a baby boy I could able to see him using webcam. My son also likes this as he gets to see his grand parents, cousins and friends from India every now and then. If video-conferencing take the place of regular visits to relatives (unlikely and possibly a good thing), I am glad I grew in the last generation before the ‘true digital age’.
If we ask any parents what their kids do after coming from school we hear many of them saying watching TV / playing game boy / computer games bla bla bla. When remember my school days.. we used to come home do home work and used to go out and play in the park or read some books which we rarely hear now a days. Kids in this generation don’t want to go out to play and read books. One question that bugs me whole time is - will future generations miss out on the feel and smell of a real book made of paper? This new technology is definitely making our kids a lot lazier. Eat whatever you want, never exercise and lose 60 pounds in 4 weeks with the amazing “Fat loss pill” – isn’t that scary??
Life is very easy after the introduction of mobile phones. When I first bought a cell and went out for vacation I got a call from one of the clients and I did my interview on my cell. First time I thought aha how easy life is with cell phone. If I don’t have a cell I may have to stay home waiting for that call. If we go out you find 8 out of 10 with mobiles. When I heard of the Delhi school case and other SMS messaging scams I give myself a question. Are we growing in technology or deteriorating in our human values. Why are we taking advantage of this technology which we can use for best purposes?
One thing I hate about technology is the fact that people abuse it. Unfortunately our form of capitalism only has two uses for technology: gadgets and weapons. The first clogs the landfills with obsolescent junk; the second threatens to exterminate humanity. I wish there was more of a concerted effort to use technology to conserve our natural resources and improve the well-being of the human race at large.
We don't need self-driving automobiles or goggles that allow you to watch DVDs while you walk down the street. We don't need cell phones that double as video cameras.
What we need is technology that will allow us to make clean water, nourishing food, and decent housing for every human being on the planet. We need technology that will obviate our reliance on fossil fuels and polymers, that sort of thing.
I am fascinated with technology, yet I fear it at the same time. While it has drastically improved the quality of life, it also has the potential to enslave us.
The effect of technology is more on kids so students don't have to learn to think anymore. Before I conclude I request everyone out there to encourage kids not to depend too much on this technology. Even if they use, teach them how to use for the better human life and not to misuse it.
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