Today I had a great opportunity to visit the museum at the old Port Pirie Railway Station. It was awesome to step back in time and see how life used to be. As I have reflected on this it has begun to bother me by how much more complicated life has become since technology has taken over our lives. They say that technology is supposed to make life easier. Mobile phones, social media, ipads and laptops are all supposed to create a life that is simple, quick and easy. It seems to me however that this so called technological advancement has in fact created the opposite effect.
When our technology fails to work or even if we try to contact someone and they fail to respond we seem to go into meltdown as we stress and ask why haven't they responded? I wonder what would happen if we decided to remove technology from our lives altogether? I think it would probably have an effect on others more than it would have an effect on me. Technology is everywhere to the point that we literally cannot do anything without it. As humans in the world today we are basically railroaded into compliance with the world even if we don't want to do it. It shows how easy it is for an individual to be forced into doing something a certain way as we simply cannot function in the world if we don't do it.
I don't know about you but this really frustrates me. People have forgotten how to communicate anymore. We wonder why society is falling apart and I think for the most part it is because we don't know how to communicate any more. Take away computers, phones and facebook and lets face it, we are helpless.
Back in the good old days life may have had it's issues but at least people talked to each other. They weren't surrounded by the constant buzzing of phones and facebook messages, rather they communicated the old fashioned way. We can't even 'time out' from work anymore because we are now easier to get hold of. Even when on holidays the temptation to log on and check facebook and email is so great that we are just constantly connected to technology.
It is interesting to note that for me to even convey these thoughts I am having to use a social media site. I don't know, some call it progress, some say that it needs to happen but does it really?? It doesn't have to happen it just needs too as we create more and more needs that rely on this technology. It also frustrates me that in an attempt to save time things like self serve registers in supermarkets has now reduced the amount of jobs available, pay wave systems on EFT and no pin required for purchases under certain amounts has now actually reduced the security on credit cards. All this so called easy of access has in fact created many other problems that we never had before.
So I come back to my earlier question: What would happen if we just got rid of the technology and reverted to a simpler and less complicated lifestyle? I think we would be a lot happier to be honest. I think our days off really would be our day off. I think people would certainly learn to communicate in a way that creates good strong relationships.
How do you suck a world in to buying into technology? make them think they have to have it. When the Y2K hoax took place 13 years ago it was interesting to see the reaction. Why did this all take place in the first place? easy to answer. The panic caused everyone to upgrade their systems which in turn literally put everyone on the same page. All of a sudden the world was able to be controlled from a central point because everyone's hardware and software was now able to communicate. I had an old 286 computer that functioned no different in the year 2000 than it did in 1999. The whole thing literally forced the hand of business and the general public.
I don't know, maybe I am way off here but it is interesting to think about.
