by Technology: “the knack of so arranging the world that we don’t have to experience it.” ~Max Frisch, c.1960s
Technological advancements improve our lives tremendously, however, we are at a point in our society where technology is so intertwined in our daily lives that we are actually experiencing many aspects of life in very unnatural ways. This quote by Max Frisch really spoke to me because in my own life, I’ve noticed that humans are so dependent and addicted to technology such as cell phones and social media. While technology often has great benefits, it can also take away from important and meaningful aspects of life to the point where humans are almost experiencing life virtually and certainly unnaturally.
A great example of a technology that highlights Frisch’s quote is the smartphone that sits in your pocket all day long. While I love my I-Phone and use it for hours every day, I’ve noticed that it has certainly taken away from meaningful social interactions in life. With a smartphone, you are able to connect with nearly anybody in the world. This is an amazing concept because it means that you can video chat with a friend across the country or share pictures with family in a different part of the world via social media. While this type of technology is brilliant and brings people together that are physically distant, the addictive nature of this technology has begun to replace traditional, meaningful social interactions. For example, if you are able to text or video chat a friend or loved one, it may feel as if there is no need to actually be with them in person. However, these in-person interactions are critical for our mental health and well-being, yet they are being replaced by the technology that we love and use every day. Our technology has advanced to the point where humans are not experiencing the world in a natural way.
Whenever my parents talk about dating during their high school and college days, I am always shocked at how different our world is today. Not too long ago, if you like somebody you might ask them out on a date when you see them at school and see where things go, naturally. Today, with the amount of technology that has been developed, dating life has changed tremendously in a more unnatural way than it used to be. Today, you are able to go on tinder or any of the countless dating apps on the app store and connect with somebody who is interested in you in only a few minutes. While there are certainly many positive aspects of this type of technology, it takes a lot away from the natural in-person interactions that used to exist. Some people on these apps may never even meet their “match” in real life, but instead spend hours of their time sharing photos and messaging them through various forms of technology. In addition, instead of going out and talking to people in person, people often use messaging apps such as Snapchat to talk to people they are interested in. In a way, these people are not actually experiencing the world, they are simply staring at their phone or computer screen.
Zoom is a technology that recently became popular due to COVID-19 restrictions and allows anybody with an internet connection to video conference. This technology is extremely useful and allows people to host work meetings or even hold college courses from anywhere in the world. I think Zoom’s technology highlights Frisch’s quote about not experiencing the world because it makes our lives so much easier to the point where you do not even have to leave your bed to complete your work. Across the world, due to COVID-19 restrictions, many students are unable to physically attend their school, and instead are taking online courses via Zoom. Many students do not even leave their homes during the day because they might feel as if there is no need due to the amazing technology that we now have access to. While this technology makes life convenient for us, these people are missing out on meaningful social interactions with classmates and teachers as well as missing out on the beautiful aspects of our world. While Zoom is currently so popular due to the pandemic, if our children become so used to it and so dependent on this technology, instead of experiencing our beautiful world in a natural way, they will spend much of their time staring at a screen, which is extremely problematic for mental health reasons.
Overall, I found Frisch’s quote to be extremely interesting because I understand it at a personal level. Our technology has advanced to the point where many important experiences in our lives are being replaced by a screen due to convenience. If our technology continues to progress in this way, many humans will experience life virtually, through a computer screen, and miss out on the many beautiful things that this world has to offer.