Column: No cure for technology addiction
Computers are evil! I don’t mean in a satanic or dark side kind of way. Perhaps more simply put, I think technology is one of the greatest burdens placed on my generation. We are so dependant upon it, at times it gains a certain kind of control over us.
I speak from experience, of course, a rather recent and painful one at that. In preparing for the new semester I found myself doing my typing, etc. on an old laptop borrowed from my dad. As distressing as it was to be working on a dinosaur in the first place, it became even more so when it suddenly went extinct. I took the loss pretty hard, but decided to make the best out of a bad situation and purchase a new computer, one of my very own that I could keep and care for all by myself. My plan was working perfectly and so was my laptop until my deadline for this column came fast approaching…and it just broke, ceased to function! It suddenly took control of my time and my files and I was left with nothing.
With my back to school experience, and the new excitement of writing my own column, suddenly tainted, I went to work, penning several drafts of my column by hand, and running around in a panic looking for a place to type it. It was the end of the world I felt, and like any good overreactor, I was crushed.
That is the gift of technology. While providing us with every modern convenience, it finds a way to pull us down, even cripple us, making us truly believe there is no possible way to live without it. Cell phones, I-Pods (???), and palm pilots follow us everywhere and cradle all our activities. If without them, we go through a series of withdrawals: first panic, then irritation, and finally compensation meaning we fill the void with a different techno gadget. It’s an addiction really, and it’s everywhere. Mobile phones ring and sing in cars, classes, and yes, sadly, even church. Maybe God should get a cell phone. Then prayer, like the pencil, would be old fashion and he would finally be able to get a hold of all his children – inexpensively if he got a nice family plan.
I sometimes wonder how the problem started. Growing up, my idea of mobile communication was the way my mother’s voice echoed through the house when hollering for us. It must have been sometime in my mixed up teens when I picked it up. I was attracted to the beeping and flashing lights, and I knew technology would make my life easier. I didn’t really understand what I was giving up-the ability to really be unavailable. But what does it matter now? I am stuck, like so many, in a world where a dead battery can ruin the day and a virus can ruin the week.
Technology: an addiction, but with no cure. There’s no patch, no pill, no support group, and, it would seem, no need for any of those things. Society is happy with there technology, at least when it’s working. It’s easy, convenient, and growing and improving all the time. Computers are getting faster, better, smaller, and more dependable everyday. I hope some time soon to turn on my PC and know, without a doubt in my mind, all will be well. There will be no crashing or croaking, no blinking or braking. Man and it’s creation will finally be at peace. I look forward to that day with great anticipation. But for now, I’m just an addict and gosh it can be irritating.