This is an interesting question, ‘Could you live without technology?’
The majority and nearly everybody will be saying ‘Of course we can’t live without modern technology!’
We have so much reliability on technology today. We spend 7 hours a day using it. That’s half of our lives in total, but is that a good thing?
Probably not if the usage is solely digital technology such as computer gaming, television and mobile phone apps.
Technology has made us who we are today, but I’m interested in whether you think we could go back to living with minimal/basic technology and whether that would be better for the social side of our lives?
Here are a few of my reasons for why we could, or couldn’t, go back to basic technology…
First! Many argue that technology has played a part in ruining our intelligence, making us stupid and ‘brain dead’. That we are too reliant on technology doing everything for us and we have forgotten how to think for ourselves. We make 4,464,000,000 Google searches per day; we don’t have to think about anything anymore if we have a computer or smart phone in front of us… Can’t remember a synonym for thank you? Google, it. We all now have the mentality of ‘just google it’ rather than think for ourselves.
Maybe this is more a reason for why we should, rather than could, go back to living without today’s technology.
Technology is also eliminating many jobs and replacing humans with machines.
It is great for businesses because it can be cheaper than hiring people. Many supermarkets are on board with this point having wiped out multiple checkout jobs for self-scanning machines. I’m sure plenty would agree this is one piece of technology that we could all live without and there are many more.
Today’s technology is replacing humans not just in the workplace but at home, making us lazy!
If you don’t believe me here is a list of three effortless jobs that we are willing to let technology do for us.
1. Smart fridges that tell you when you need to buy more milk. LG have created appliances that come with a ‘home chat’, meaning you can text from your smartphone to ask the fridge “do we need more milk?” to which it will reply if you do or don’t.
2. Smart washing machines where you can again use your mobile phone to text your machine to start the washing. I am not sure how this one benefits – surely you would still need to add the washing powder and conditioner into the machine yourself by hand, making it even lazier if you then can’t be bothered to simply press the start button!
3. Self-driving cars! Not only does this seem very dangerous and come with a lot of questions, including where the fault lies if there is a crash, in my opinion if you don’t want to drive then that’s what public transport is for!
Although there are these technologies that some claim to be turning us into unsociable lazy robots, we mustn’t ignore technology in the medical world. This technology is incredible and brings good to the unfortunate. One clear example of this is Prosthetic limbs. Did you know they have been around since the time of Egyptians? Without some of the developments in technology, Prosthetists’ would not have been able to create the highly advanced prosthetics we have today that are able to function like real limbs.
Technology has also allowed people with learning difficulties to progress majorly in education using devices best suited for their needs. Children with reading difficulties can use audio devices to listen to the books they are studying. There’s also software such as Electronic Math Worksheets, one I’ve only just learned about, which helps individuals organise, align and work through maths problems on a computer screen.
Technology is now used in almost every classroom in Britain which has a great impact on all children’s learning, simply by improving their engagement levels.
I remember when I was in school that the best, most interesting lessons were always the ones where we got to use computers to research work and write our literacy on, or when we would be split into teams and use a game on the new smart board to learn our times tables.
Technology in schools can weigh heavily on both sides though because it can also have a negative impact, especially the use of personal technology with the current young generation.
So much so that teenagers today have been labelled ‘Generation Snowflake’. They have less resilience than previous generations which is believed to be due to the amount of pressure they experience from being online.
Author Joanne Trollope says that the reason teenagers today have this attitude is because they are the first generation to grow up surrounded by social media and the constant criticisms, bullying and information that comes with it.
Is this a problem with technology, though? Or with the use of technology by the younger generation themselves?
It can also be a huge distraction for them, taking their focus away from their school work and in some cases, can be cited as a reason for special exceptions for extended deadlines after missing original time frames and exams.
These points make it a difficult decision in terms of whether technology within schools is a good or a bad thing.
The worry of technology being a distraction isn’t limited to the school environment either. Many businesses and managers worry about technology being a distraction for their teams at work.
Technology plays such a huge role in the world of work. It’s such a great source of information and it saves a massive amount of time and money. Technology in the workplace is so fundamental that it would be a ridiculous suggestion that you could run a good business without it.
However, many employers do still worry that their employees aren’t doing what they are supposed to be doing on their devices.
It is also inevitable that with so much technology in the workplace, there will be issues and risks that businesses will need support and advice with, that’s why you should always have a good IT support…
Everything Tech could be yours!!
