Tech dependent

One thing that has always surprised me is how dependent people have become on technology.

Nowadays, it seems technology devices can do so many things. Locking your doors, starting your car, banking, taking pictures, setting the thermostat, watching movies, and reading books are some of the many things people can now do directly from their smartphone.

Email, instant messaging, and cellphone texts have replaced handwritten letters and sometimes face-to-face social interaction.

Going off of that point, social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, have seemed to limit the amount of face-to-face social interaction we have. I have even noticed people are calling friends less and are turning instead to sending them messages from these social media platforms or texts.

I know personally, with my job and just for my own social life, I can’t go anywhere without having my cellphone on me.

I’ve noticed in coffee shops people sitting across from one another with their phones in front of their faces rather than talking to each other.

Video games, Netflix streaming and television are some of the things keeping people inside, rather than getting out and enjoying life.

We rely on alarm clocks to wake us up, and if they fail it becomes an excuse for why we were late.

A lot of companies now are going to full digital files, rather than the old way of storing handwritten files in a file folder. This does have some disadvantages, such as, if there was a power outage, work could not get done.

From what I’ve seen, people seem to be doing more simple math calculations on a calculator rather than in their head.

The way dating is done nowadays has changed as well, with the advent of apps such as Tinder.

Criminals, terrorists and activists have noticed this technology dependence, and this is why we are seeing more news about cyber attacks, ‘hacktivist’ groups and email frauds. And during power outages, you can clearly see how dependent we truly are on technology.

So, here are some of the things I recommend for those who, after reading this, agree they are too dependent on technology.

When you have an opportunity, call your friend, rather than talking to them on social media. Turn off your television or video game console, put down your phone and get outside. Challenge yourself, and try to spend at least a full day away from social media. Visit a museum and see what life was like before technology.

It may do everyone some good to step away from technology for a little while.