Has Technology Really Helped Us?

[Sojourner]

The other day I saw, in passing, an ad for some time-saving gadget that had a tagline something along the lines of "Fewer chores, more living." It made me wonder, what exactly does "more living" mean? I think for the majority of Americans it ends up being more time in front of the TV or playing video games.

Our lives are filled with all sorts of technology, in all sorts of ways. . Household chores, work, entertainment, etc. -- everything is touched by continuing development. We're always working to get better and faster and more efficient. But I know statistics show the average American watches something like 4 hours of TV a day. Video games are another huge use of time. A thread over in open mic recently noted that loneliness has reached epidemic proportions in the U.S. So, we have all these ways of staying "connected" with people, but we're still lonely.

So, are we really using the time we "save" through technology in a beneficial way? Is technology really making us better human beings? Or are we descending into patterns of laziness heretofore unknown, and forgetting something of what it means to be human and to embrace community?

As a caveat I'm not recommending a return to a primitive state or something, but I think a discussion on whether technology overall is helpful or harmful could be interesting.

[CatherineM]

I think my grandparents had more actual free time than we do today.

[homeschoolmom]

On the one hand, I like that I don't have to stand at a sink full of dishes a couple of times a day or ring our laundry and hang it to dry (especially in January).

On the other, I don't like that people are expected to be "connected" all the time-- particularly to their co-workers. The inability to actually leave work behind is a reality to many people and it hurts their relationships. For those who do try to pull away from work, they are labeled "not a team player" code for "doesn't put work about all else."

So, yeah, I see what you're driving at, Terra.

[cmotherofpirl]

I see your point, but then I watch 1900 House on PBS and am very thankful for stoves, washing machines, vaccuum cleaners and dryers. The problem with technology is that each kind brings its own set of problems and expectations along with it and fosters more and more individuality and less community.

As a small child I lived without indoor plumbing, television, telephone and easy access to shopping and its not all its cracked up to be. However lives were more peaceful and friendships more dear and time seemed slower than today.

I do miss washing Mondays when we all hung the laundry out to dry and visited with neighbor ladies over the back fence or on the front porches with hot tea while the clothes dried. I also miss when someone would fix their car in the alley or work on their house, the older generation would soon start gathering with advice [ wanted or not] and the small kids would come to watch and learn. Or when someone died all the neighbor ladies would soon arrive with food enough for an army and clean your house and take the children elsewhere while you sorted out life. People watched out for each other and cared for each more then.
All those community neighborly and friendly days seem gone.

[kamiller42]

Products of technology are a tool. They can be used for good and bad. Like almost everything, too much is not good. You will overload if you take on too much, i.e. stuffing your toolbox with too many tools. The key is to find the minimal amount of technology required to achieve maximum time savings.

Now entertainment technology is something else. Technology in this case is a delivery vehicle. Too much of any one kind of entertainment is not good regardless of its delivery. If education is meal for the mind, entertainment is the dessert. You can have a healthy life living off an excessive amount of dessert.

[philothea]

I don't know... I think it depends on if you are an active, goal-oriented person, or just living a directionless life. If you've got more free time, do you make use of it?

Time is the one thing we can't get any more of. If I can use the time I have more efficiently, I can accomplish much more. But yeah, people who just use it to veg... it'd be better if they were busy with something. Even if it was just chores.

Personally, every high-tech gadget I get (and I have a fairly ridiculous number of them...) improves my life notably. Most recent was a hand-me-down iPhone. If I'd realized how incredibly useful it was going to be, I'd have paid for one years ago.

But, I don't even have a TV, and I only play video games as deliberate, scheduled entertainment.

[Skinzo]

I know of a group of Catholics who tend to believe that most technology is dehumanizing. They have a blog called "Caelum et Terra". See: http://caelumetterra.wordpress.com/

For myself it becomes hard to decide just what types of technology are in fact dehumanizing. Maybe this is kind of an individual thing. Hard for me to see that there are any general principles in this area that everyone needs to accept.

S.

[Vincent Vega]

Yes, it has.
I can honestly say that I would not be Catholic were it not for technology.

[KCMayrie]

[color="#2E8B57"][size="3"][font="Lucida Sans Unicode"]Technology has gone a long way to helping us modernize our lives. Chores that used to take hours now take mere minutes to complete. However, has it really simplified our lives? If anything I would have to say no. As others have commented, the "free time" we have gained is spent on the computer or cell phone or playing video games. It is not spent on building family or community bonds the way it once was. It used to be that neighbors looked out for each other and offered assistance in times of need...now it seems like peopl are more out for "number 1" than their fellow man. I'm not trying to be a pessimist, but seriously wonder if all the modern conveinence that 'help' in this life is not being more harmful for the life to come?

Your Thoughts?[/font][/size][/color]