Lately I've come to realize that everything that we could once buy in a store is now being delivered to us with free 2-day shopping. This is great. Great for UPS and USPS drivers, that is. It isn't great, however, for those people who are still opening their stores from 9-7 PM every day and not selling a single electronic while still having to pay however much it costs to rent the space of the store let alone all of the bills that come with.
It isn't great for those people but it also isn't for the rest of us. The simplest experiences in life like showering and getting ready to head out to the mall to do some shopping can be avoided with 5 or 10 clicks on any online shopping website from the comfort of your own couch. It's really just amazing what technology can do for you today, but it is also demeaning. We make our lives easier by adding technology to everything that we do, but are we making our lives better, is the question. Are we making our lives worthwhile? How many interactions do we avoid by using technology today? While that may be a good thing to some people, think about that girl named Sally in your 5th grade class who will never meet her soul mate because she won't leave her house. She might, however, find him on Tinder or Match.com and then catfish him because she's actually a gross, obese girl that never leaves her house for any real exercise because she's too occupied with Netflix marathons.
I mean, the truth is, we are letting technology take over these simple human "things". Simple human things today are not the same simple human things from 100 years ago. I think that the only simple human things that I still do today are grocery shopping and laundry. Everything else I ever do always somehow involves technology and in retrospect, that is kind of sad. When I was a child growing up, we played with some pretty awesome toys like Legos and Polly Pocket and actually made use of our backyards in the summer. Now, if a kid has an iPad, that's it. No worries, ever. Children are learning to use the internet so early on that it scares me. It scares me that my 10 year old cousin already has an iPhone and is already texting people. It scares me that what she will remember from her childhood is playing flappy bird and watching Netflix. It just doesn't seem natural, even human, to me.
Technology will continue to get better, and I'm not saying it should not. I am just saying that we should really think about drawing a line somewhere. Where is it appropriate and inappropriate to involve technology? We need to start thinking about this. I am just afraid that if we wait too long, we won't even have to use the bathroom anymore; there will be an app for that.
I don't agree that technology forces us to give up social lives and interactions with others. Ordering products from Amazon is not only convenient but gives you a wider selection and usually better pricing. Driving around to stores(if you have the transportational means) consumes a great deal of extra time and gas. There are some items which are better to be procured from stores due to their nature e.g. clothes,tv's, large appliances. And if people want to go out shopping socially they still do it.
ReplyDeleteAs per your Sally example, technology doesn't force you to stay at home, it is how you use it.
I do agree that technology takes over too much of our lives, but then again I don't think that amazon.com and other websites as such are a 'bad' thing. They are convenient, especially around the holidays, and they save people a lot of time and money to be able to do the things that they actually like to do. That to me, sounds like a positive thing. But I do completely understand where you are coming from with the whole growing up differently part. That to me is a totally different story.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up, I too loved to play outside, ride my bike all the time; the biggest thing I asked for growing up wasn't to get a phone, or an ipad, it was me begging my parents to let me bike to wawa with my friends. It was simple things like that, allowances, that I used to crave with each year I grew older. When I was that age obviously, I resented my parents for not letting me do all of the things I wanted when I was young when all of my other friends were. Now that I'm older, I thank them for that. I now see those same friends who can't take no for an answer and it really just goes to show how being raised differently can have an affect on us. Now, with the ipads and phones just being handed to kids like candy, these younger generations are in trouble. WE'RE in trouble.
This is why I already promised myself that no matter what new technologies are around by the time my first child is born, they're not going to have a phone and such until the same age I did, which was 13. I want them to focus on being a kid, going outside to play, jumping in the pool, playing hop scotch and listening to CDs. Getting back to basics may be the best thing we could do as future parents.