I Love Technology! Is it Convenient Or A Hassle?
First, I want to thank Abie for giving me something to write about. This is a play off of her post about technology. I was having a hard time coming up with something to write about and this is a great topic.
There are downsides to technology but there are also a lot of great things. Let's be honest, technology has made me lazy in a lot of ways. I don't use half of what other people use, but it has still made me lazy. Before there was internet and cellphones, I had more phone numbers memorized than I could count. Now, I don't even remember my own phone number. This doesn't bother me because I never really cared for phones and honestly technology became the perfect excuse to never have to hear the ringing from a telephone again. There is a nice little "silent" option, which I love.
Has technology caused me to become less social? Probably. I don't have to deal with small talk that I am really not interested in if I don't want to. People can just send me an email if they want to know something and I can get to it when I have time. There is social media, but I really don't use it and I feel like it is something you can bypass if you want to. Technology has definitely changed how people interact socially. Personally, I enjoy having a choice on whether I want quiet for a day or a day of chatting. Technology gives you that choice. It has also provided an option to talk to people without interrupting other people who are watching television. My daughter and I can chat while watching a movie with the family, it allows us to brainstorm ideas without having to leave the room or having people constantly pause the movie. For some people this social interaction change is good and for others it is not. That is something you have to decide for yourself.
Technology has reduced my storage needs dramatically. With the ability to stream movies and television shows, I no longer need shelving units to hold dvds. In fact, I don't even use discs anymore. I can also fit all of my art on a little box that plugs into my computer. Before this advancement, I would have needed rooms, shelves, drawers, and a multitude of other things just to store drawings. The amount of art and storage would have gotten overwhelming and the art had a higher chance of becoming damaged if I could not provide adequate storage solutions. Artists can be a little messy but some artists don't want so much mess. I would rather have my mess on an external drive than throughout my house. It is the best of both worlds. My house can be organized and relaxed and my art drive can be a chaotic mess without actual paint or pencils all over the place. Can you imagine having every paint color in your house? On the computer you can access every color available without mess or storage! I love technology. :D
Technology is a big part of our lives. Have you ever taken the time to think about what life would be like without it? I mean, REALLY thought about it. Imagine life without modern medicine, transportation, construction, etc. What if people never built technology or learned from it or created any ideas that have made life easier for us? What things would you miss the most if technology disappeared? Are there things you wouldn't miss? I would assume that electricity, heat, refrigerators, cooking appliances, and other things that you use every day would be on the top of the list. There are probably some things that you use every day that you wouldn't miss at all. Take a few minutes to really think about what life would be like if you took things away that you use every day. Would your life be more or less convenient? Then think about which technology you wouldn't actually miss and are more of a hassle than anything. Would it be helpful to you to remove some of these things from your lifestyle?
These are all things we have to decide for ourselves. We don't all use the same things for the same reasons. So, what works for you might not work for me and what I like might not be something you like. Working smarter and using technology to benefit your lifestyle, it is a great option to have available!
Have a great week everyone!
Thank you, Abie, for a great topic. :D
Recent Comments
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Great blog post here Angela, thank you for sharing and the mention.
Greatly appreciated and I am also happy that I could inspire you.
Thank you so much for the inspiration! It really as interesting topic. I hope you are having a great week. :D
I like technology to an extend, Angela, but I do like my video, album, and book collections! I sell quite a few of each every year while also acquiring more. It is just something to pass the time! You make a lot of very valid points though!
Jeff
I think we all need things that we enjoy to pass the time. Can you imagine if we didn't have things we enjoyed to pass the time? That would not be fun at all. lol.
I hope you are having a great week, Jeff! :D
No, Angela, it certainly wouldn't, my friend!
My week has been alright for the most part!
I hope yours has too!
Jeff
It has been a very busy week! I have gotten a lot done. Not as much done on the blog as I would like, but other stuff is getting done. So, it works out. :D
I am a little stuck on the blog at the moment because I can't decide yet how I would like the next pages set up. So, I am waiting for it to come to me as it is being decided in the background. lol.
Hi...Just like Abie's article, this is a great thought-provoking article. I truly believe that overall, our lives are better, higher quality, and much more productive WITH technology.
HOWEVER, I fear that our society is becoming faceless, all too often I'll be at a restaurant (doesn't matter if it is a McDonald's or a five-star steakhouse), I'll see people of all ages on their phones rather than talking to the person they are with -- even when it's a group of folks.
Plus, technology (and I will also include social media for this) yes has made it easier to communicate but has also made it easier to bully and send offending texts, etc.
So, while we are living a better life (and some will argue against that), we have also become somewhat more vulnerable to unwanted interference.
I hope that all makes sense...thank you for both for these articles.
-Mike
Great ideas in the wrong hands turn into bad ideas but in the right hands they can be great.
I agree with you, there are downsides for sure. Luckily, in a lot of cases we can stay away from those who choose to use these things for negative purposes.
My family is actually one of those groups that is on their phone in restaurants. Usually, someone in the group is looking things up or comparing prices or seeing what is close by to go to next. Someone comes up with an idea, and the next thing you know you have 3 people looking up something to go with that idea. Come to think of it, that is how things are everywhere we go. ha ha! Point being that it doesn't always mean the group isn't communicating with each other. In some case they are not but in some they are.
Bullying and offensive texts has made it much easier to know which people to stay away from. These are people who used to put on an act and pretend to be nice people. You would find out for months or even years what kind of person they were. Now, they are comfortable enough to show you who they are right away. Choices, everyone has them and can decide how to treat other people. Obviously those kinds of people don't make good choices and most of us would be happier knowing that from the start rather than find out later when we really needed someone we thought we could trust. So, as bad as these things are there is an upside to knowing the truth before getting too far into a relationship with them.
I think one of my biggest concerns about technology is that it has become difficult to know what is REAL. The advances in computer technology has made it possible for any videos and images to be completely fake. The tech is so amazing, they can make non-existing people look like real people. The advances on this is impressive. It is great for video games but not so great for news outlets. It causes trust issues, not knowing what is true and what is not.
I agree with you about technology making it more difficult to know what is REAL and what is not real. We need to educate those using technology at the beginning so that they become more aware of ALL the dangers -- just like teaching someone the dangers when they begin to drive.
-Mike
I saw a video the other day, it looked as if they had created a robot. It was actually a CGI robot on a human, like a skin. They did so well that the only way you could tell was a subtle movement in the leg. The person had overexerted himself enough that his leg shook. That wouldn't happen with a robot. Amazing skill on that video.
I don't think we are more vulnerable to dangers. I think they are just becoming less hidden. Our area used to only be within a small distance from ourselves, now it is the world. Truths were bound to come to the surface. A lot of things have always existed. It is easier to hide dangers when there are less people to notice them, care about them, or talk about them. The more that people go outside of their comfort zone, the more they will see, and the more their mindsets will evolve...or devolve if they choose.
We always have such interesting conversations, Mike. :D
Yes, we do...and I fully agree with what you are saying, but I'm going to challenge one thing you said in the last paragraph.
You said, "...I don't think we are more vulnerable to dangers...", then you said, "...I think they are just becoming less hidden..."; so, if the dangers are just becoming less hidden, wouldn't that still make us vulnerable...and if (and I agree) our reach is now the WORLD and not just what's around us...wouldn't also increase our vulnerability since we may now be exposed to more threats and dangers -- since we are mostly in uncharted territories with this new reach?
Especially for those who may not have the same worldly experience or are just ignorant to such dangers and threats...like children and the lonely and seniors -- who grew-up in different times?
Thank you for the stimulating conversation!
-Mike
You make a very valid point, Mike. Perhaps I should change my wording?
You know I love these conversations that we have, so I will continue it just for fun. :D
I accepted your challenge and declare you the winner of said challenge, my friend. :D
So, if you know 10 people and 2 of those people are people who are not very nice they may be written up as "grumpy" and their behavior might just go unnoticed and not talked about. Children raised around that will assume there is nothing wrong because no one talks about it and no one has said "this is not okay". Then they enter the WORLD and things change for them in an instant. They don't learn of dangers if they are not aware that they exist. So, you are correct that they would be more vulnerable. If 2 out of every 10 people are "grumpy" or mean or negative, that raises the amount substantially that you would run into when out in the world. That was a bit of rambling.
Anyway, I obviously need to change my wording. You got me on that one, Mike. Fantastic! I love these conversations! I think dangers that were already there have come to the surface because of technology. They are being made more apparent and they are less hidden. Many of those dangers have always been there and with them being talked about, people are being forced to see and accept them now. For many people, they think they are new. For others, it is old news.
With so many people talking about them, it really does look like there is more bad in the world than there is good. I have a theory on why: The happy positive people are not on social media 24/7 being miserable. They are out living their lives and you don't hear much from them. lol.
đ there are no winners or losers, just two colleagues having a friendly joist helping/ challenging each other.
I think itâs more of a net/ net tie!
Your right, there arenât MORE bad players, itâs just that they are more exposed. When I worked for a large organizational consulting firm, one of the top consultants always used the phrase, âthere are always rocks in the water, but when the water level drops they rear there ugly jagged peaksâŠwhen the water level is high â you can cruise smoothly right over them and not notice any of themâ.
So I guess you can conclude that the new technology lowers the water level?
Thoughts?
-Mike
I think it depends on the area of water. I also think that misery loves company. Miserable people tend to gather in an area where they feel acknowledged and the happy people tend to...leave. lol. The negative people will usually move on to somewhere else if they do not feel validated and acknowledged.
I saw something like this with art. There are many places where you can use art. I noticed that a group of people would jump to each place when they first opened and they would saturate the marketplaces. As soon as a group of regular artist would start working at a new place, that other group would jump in and saturate the marketplace. It was a pattern that I noticed after seeing the same people jumping from place to place at the same times. These people stuck together and were out to control the marketplaces to prevent other people's art from showing. They were using bots and doing all kinds of things to post thousands of things on the marketplace every day. No human person can do that. The places did eventually come up with ways to combat their insanity. The group was only around 10 people or less. They looked larger than they were because they were using bots and multiple accounts.
People do this on social media as well. They will create multiple accounts, create posts, and answer their own posts from a different account. It makes them appear more popular than they are and makes it appear as if they are being validated by people.
They also do this on games. Multiple accounts and bots set up to do the work for each account, it makes you look like you have quite a following. I used to play a game that had guilds, the guilds were limited to 100 members. People would make 100 accounts. The game company figured it out and started shutting down their accounts.
Thank you Mike, for another challenging and interesting conversation! These are always so much fun. I hope you have a fantastic weekend! :D
Yes we do have very spirited conversations and I like them a lot.
Thank you and you too have a great weekend!
-Mike
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If anyone has not read Abie's post, it is located here: TheAbie - Using Technology Enhance Learning Abie has some great insights. We have a lot of similar things to say. We have written about similar things in the past by accident. It has been funny to see our posts go together. Today, I thought it would be fun to purposely play off of her post. I think she is a good inspiration for many people. :)