by Quote: “For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press 3.” ~Alice Kahn
For thousands of years, humans have sought to make life easier through countless technological advancements. Whether it be mobile phones, airplanes, or highways, the idea behind any new technology was to ease the burden of manual labor, save time, and possibly make money off a novel creation. However, often times, technology has removed some of the quality life experience that used to take place naturally. Even if a form of technology was originally intended to be a positive invention, and does help humans to some degree, it can also have a negative impact on people.
Mobile phones are an easy example of a type technology that has both helped and hurt humans. They allow for communication between anyone in the world with cellular reception and a device at any time of day, making it possible to stay connected with distant family members and work colleagues across the globe. Without mobile phones, we would without a doubt be a less efficient society, but our quality of life may possibly be better. Due to apps like tinder, instagram, and snapchat, people interact face to face less and less as the years go by. Their social skills are left largely underdeveloped compared to prior generations due to a reliance on their phones. In today’s age of social gatherings, there are always people on absorbed by their devices instead of taking part in what’s actually going on around them. Social media also adds pressure on everyone to make their life seem as great as possible, in a strange sort of competition, usually only pointing out the positives in their lives rather than all the negatives people experience. It has lead to people living less authentic lives and being far too consumed about what other people think about them. Personally, I think people would be better off without social media at all. On top of the negative social repercussions that come with mobile phones, there are also more serious ones like death as the result of texting and driving.
Although maybe less obvious, airplanes and highways may also fail to improve our quality of life. Both of them help us travel around the world much faster, and allow us see more of the world in our lifetimes, but take away the natural experience of travel. Nowadays, when people want to get from one place to another, they simply hop in a plane or car, and leave, without much thought of the journey or the adventure that lies head. Before these technological advancements, people had much more interaction with the world around them as the traveled from place to place. I imagine that they had a much deeper connection with nature and understood the landscapes around them on a more personal level. There are also many deaths related to airplane and car crashes that could be completely avoided without them. However, despite the downsides to these forms of transportation, I think humans do benefit more with them than without them due to the freedom of travel they provide.
Overall, I agree with Alice Kahn’s quote tremendously as there are many ways in which technology has lead us astray as a society. When creating new technology we must remember what is really important to us as people and our journey of life, and be less fixated on efficiency and money.