Matthew Gates http://notetoservices.com 3m 839 #technology
The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.
Technology: Bringing Us Closer Together As It Separates Us Even Further Apart
Looking back at human technology, human advancement, and human evolution, it is perplexing to think that we have come along way, and the majority of our technology, which we completely rely on today, to save our lives, for communication, and to improve our overall well-being is less than 100 years old.
In 100 years, we have managed to improve every aspect of our lives, from having a cooked meal in about 2 minutes, to constructing buildings in just a few months, and traveling across the world in just days instead of months or years, to sending a message around the world and receiving a response in mere seconds. There is no doubt that technology has made the human condition far better and has extended the lives of every human being currently living on this planet, but it has also shown to be destructive and deadly, when used in the wrong hands, and in the wrong way.
Technology has come along way and progress is being made everyday, as companies race in the competition to come up with the next best thing. While the desire for greed and profit drives most men and corporations to make advancements in technology, in a way, it is necessary for technology to become affordable to everyone.
As one company may make a product, so another makes a duplicate of the same product, though it may not be as great, it still functions the same way, and thus, costs are driven down as the main company competes with the new company in order to make sales. The side effects of the way this system functions means affordable new technology for everyone.
Before this profiteering of technology came about, there were several pioneers who explored technology for the science and the advancement of the human race for the betterment of society, to make things more simple, and easier to use. Producing energy into light became one of the most prolific inventions that became widely used throughout the world, as seen in this modern photo, taken from space of the Earth. Before the invention of the light bulb, the world was completely dark at night, with only the faint light of candles to pave the way.
The majority of us have experienced power outages before, where we are left in the dark, and seem to be scrambling for something to do, whether it is grabbing our cellphones for a game or chatting with friends, or the computer. Luckily, some families may make the best of it and grab board games, or just talk to spend more quality time together, with the light of candles, which takes us back to a time when that was the only light we had.
The more technology we have, which is supposed to easily connect us to the world, to our friends, and family, the more it actually drives us apart. When our preferred method of communication is through a computer screen, instant messages and text messages, rather than picking up a phone, and actually communicating with someone to hear their voice and letting them hear your voice. The silence is only so comforting, but on another level, it is lonely.
Silence can be wonderful, and even comforting, when a couple are spending quality time together, cuddling, and embracing each other, but when that silence comes because one or both people are on their screens, checking their social media accounts, texting friends, and not talking, there is something seriously wrong. When people pull out their phones to snap photos of someone in need of help rather than pulling out their phones to call 911, or to rush to assist, than technology is certainly a problem. No technology, no matter how much the advancement, should be valued over a human life. When a couple is on a date, and someone pulls out their phone, why is the phone more interesting than the date? When we think there is nothing to talk about, so we hop on our phones, tablets, or computer, to escape to a false reality, a fantasy in which we are bombarded with insane amounts of information, some important, but most of it not that important.
Our attention is on everything else but what we need to be focused on: our fellow humans, on communication, on getting to know each other, and being a part of the entire human existence. The phone may seem like the best thing in your life, but with the billions of humans on this Earth, all with their own experiences, lives, and stories to tell. It is we who tell the story, not technology that will tell the story. When will we consider putting our phones away in favor of a conversation? When we will put away technology and focus on what it most important? Technology, as far as we know, is here to stay, and help us thrive, but without each other, without communication, technology means nothing.
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