Technology Dependence: A New Addiction

Now more than ever we are all addicted to technology. I'm not speaking from a position of judgment. I'm just as addicted as the next person. However, I'm not speaking in a simple informative voice either. Recently I was traveling and stopped at a convenience store to get some gas. The computer was down and the register wasn't functioning properly. I handed cash from my wallet to the cashier. The woman behind the counter couldn't make change for me. Without the cash register she couldn't figure out what amount of change to give me out of a dollar. I was in shock. Simple addition and subtraction was beyond her business skills. At some point early on she decided that she would never need to know how to do the basic algebra. That begs an obvious question. In the future what knowledge will we as a society decide is no longer needed. What things will we then miss?

Computers - Technology Addicts Crack!?

This is the most dangerous symptom of our collective technology addiction. It isn't restricted to the functions of a calculator. How often in one day do you check your cellphone for messages, send texts, or e-mails? I compulsively check my social media sites. Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin are my personal guilty pleasures. It seems a bit ironic to me that there are literally thousands of articles and blog posts across the internet warning us about the dangers of overusing technology. As of this writing a simple Google search for the term “technology addiction” revealed about one hundred and six thousand results.

Technology addiction has even been recognized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Among other things FEMA recognizes that technology trends have extended even beyond the expected avenues. For this they coined the phrase “The Internet of Things”. An interesting paper called “Technological Development and Dependency Long-term Trends and Drivers and Their Implications for Emergency Management” was published by FEMA under the Strategic Foresight Initiative, “A future of opportunities and risks will arise as people can remotely control, locate, and monitor everyday things – “The Internet of Things.” “The Internet of Things” refers to the general idea of things, especially everyday objects, which are readable, recognizable, locatable, addressable, and/or controllable via the internet. These everyday objects include not only electronic devices and the products of higher technological development such as vehicles and high-tech equipment, but things that many people do not ordinarily think of as electronic at all—such as food, clothing, and shelter; materials, parts, and subassemblies; commodities and luxury items; landmarks, boundaries, and monuments; and all the miscellany of commerce and culture. There are several rapidly developing technologies that are enabling the Internet of Things including sensor networks, positioning technologies, and biometrics.”

Technology will eventually be even more around us and involved in every aspect of our lives. Whether or not you consider that invasive or not isn't important. We have to be sure that we can function with autonomy when any aspect of our lives is interrupted by the inevitable hiccup/malfunction of technology. Use technology to make lengthy and common tasks shorter and more convenient. Don't use technology to replace your knowledge. Don't be the cashier lost in ignorance and far too dependent.