Technology: Crutch or Charm?

My post Time and Money, The terrible Twins shared some thoughts about what we do with our lives concerning time and the driving force of money.
We have all been given the same amount of time in a day but some of our lives are much shorter than expected.
A fit healthy young man dies of a heart attack while running whilst another person lives to over 100 with killer habits.

Technology has given us countless ways to save time but does it cripple or charm you?

Technology had its big break when the space race began.
Two superpowers wanted to be the first in the race but they had no blueprint or benchmark to plot against.
They were driven by pride and the need to prove that their system was better.
The west competed against the ideology of the east and the threat of communism whilst they believed that capitalists were evil.

Technology had to be invented as space travel was only a reality in the minds and words of the great science fiction writers like Asimov and HP Lovecraft.
Space was a frontier that Star trek and others had conquered.
The War of The Worlds had begun.

Mankind had an astronomical problem to solve but went ahead to eventually achieve their goals.
The Russians were the first to put a man in space. This was topped by the Americans who put a man on the moon.

Technology has evolved at great speed since then leaving those who distrust it idling in the backwaters.
The discoveries made in the space race led to other inventions that benefited mankind globally.

I remember when the first handheld electronic calculator came out.
It was a huge device that ate batteries.
The screen glowed with red numerals that flashed as it calculated but the price was way beyond my pocket money.
Today’s calculators are a dime a dozen and that cheap too.

Telephones took forever to get the phone number dialled with plenty of frustrating errors.
Cordless phones were next and then the mobile phone.
A mobile phone is no longer a luxury and its uses are astounding.
A calculator, game centre, music player, camera, internet connection and telephone, all within your palm.

Today we are dependent on technology and its charms.
It is difficult to keep up with the new gadgets that are marketed to make our lives easier or more pleasant.
So many people cannot live without the latest technology.

Think back to your youth and compare the devices you used then to what you use now.
Has technology helped you save time?
What do you do with the time that you saved?
Do you spend this extra time with your family, on relaxation or waste it on pleasure technology?

The paradox is that we have become addicted to technology.
We use it to save time so that we can earn more to buy the latest charm that we just have to have.

A simple test will reveal if you are addicted to technology.

Do not use your favourite gadget for a day and see what happens.
How many excuses did you make for using it?

Has technology crippled you or have you been enchanted by its cold electronic eyes?

The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog. The dog will be there to keep the man from touching the equipment.
Warren G. Bennis

Updated: April 2022

9 thoughts on “Technology: Crutch or Charm?”

  1. three days ago i decided to not use my laptop at night to reduce the number of ours i stay in front of it, and it was very hard, i felt like i am a drug addict who is trying to recover !!

  2. Hi Farouk,
    The problem with addiction is that it is so easy to become addicted to the things we like.
    The transition is made too easy with technology and we constantly look for the latest fix.
    I think that computer addiction with social networking is a hard habit to crack.
    All the best in cutting the strings.

  3. Hi,
    Great article. It’s so hard to disconnect from technology these days.
    I miss the days way back before fax machine.
    Things were slower then – and less stressful.

  4. Good reading.Thanks…
    Remember way back when we didn’t require a mobile phone.Need me?
    Call me at home or leave a message on the recorder with the cassette.

    Ahhh the joys.

  5. Days of cassette and LP records.
    I think life was a little less chaotic and more enjoyable.
    The special effects of the movies even dazzled us then.
    Nowadays we laugh them off as archaic.
    Thanks Marius

  6. Thanks Angela,
    I have heard of some folk living off the grid and I think that perhaps the BT (before technology) lead to more productive lives.
    The problem with technology is that we are so dependent on it but it is dependent on electricity. So I guess that those who control the ‘power’ eventually control the people. Cut the power and everyone goes ‘cold technology’ uh ‘turkey’ from their addiction.bg

  7. I definately have to agree that life was more enjoyable & less stressfull.
    I mean, husband’s used to come home in the evening and be able to switch of from the days work. Now the laptop is on – just in case there is an urgent email that needs responding – or to get to the e-mail correspondence that you just did not get to respond to in your busy working day. The cellphone is handy for any urgent after hour calls – or just even normal catch up business collegue calls that time did not allow for during business hours. This is while the kids are checking out “You-tube” or the latest technology available for their cellphones.
    What has happened to “normal” family quality time spend together to recharge those batteries for the next day.
    I miss the good old days!!!!!!!!!!!
    Yvonne

  8. Too true Yvonne. Technology has now taken an insidious place in the family eating up the time that it supposedly saved for a better life. The question is which is more important; family life or technology?

  9. thanks for ur own ideas !

    will i think that technology is the most neseccery device
    by which we can do everything but setting in ur own place

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