Consider:
What is our purpose?
Why are we here?
What we will we do next?
How will we design it?
What will it’s purpose be?
Will it be faster?
Will it talk to us?
Will it listen?
Will we have to do anything?
Will wear it?
Will it change the way we see the world?
How will our children use it?
How will it affect their development?
Are we moulding their future?
Are we being Helpful or Harmful?
But it’s entertaining isn’t it?
Why should we worry?
Are we becoming too distracted?
How will we know?
Is it going to be too late?
Consider.
It’s easy to become distracted when each click, tap, or swipe leads to a new and exciting place! How can we not be sucked into the world of amazing, mind-boggling technology? Especially when there are no limits to the amount of new information or pieces of technology we can receive!
David Brower once said,
“All technology should be considered guilty until proven innocent.”
We as a society jump on any and all forms of new and exciting technology! And this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does need to be done with a bit more caution! Unquestionably, technology is capable of enhancing life in multiple ways. Whether is used medically, educationally, or structurally; as transportation or communication; or in eco-friendly and leisurely ways, technology enables us to achieve things that go beyond human ability.
However, Brower’s statement is important for us to consider. There are many unforeseen drawbacks of technology that are sometimes unavoidable due to the fact that the repercussions are overlooked or not considered at all! We as a society take technology too lightly! It is crucial that we stop treating it as innocent, and instead view it as a lemon!
Wait What! Why a Lemon?
A teacher once explained to me,
“If you’ve ever been to a casino, you know that one lemon on the slot machine doesn’t really mean anything. Now two, two is a different story-it’s a bit of a bigger deal. But THREE? Now there you have a whole new situation!”
Basically, my teacher explained that things can be absolutely harmless in small quantities, but as we allow them to accumulate they can start becoming something different and can cause problems as you add more components to it. While technology on its own isn’t harmful, it becomes a ‘lemon’ when it is used in the wrong ways! Specifically, when you add in factors such as amount of time spent using technology and the types of things that the technology is being used for, serious repercussions can (and will) occur! For instance, the addictive qualities of Facebook have played a huge role in my technology consumption! While I myself value the outdoors and believe that tech needs to be put down, I am a victim of mindless scrolling! I can spend hours looking at ridiculous videos online, while I have spent little to no time conversing with my family or partaking in nature! And I’m an adult! So for the children who are being spoon fed technology on a daily basis, the baskets of lemons that they are accumulating will only continue to overflow! The economy does nothing but target children and lead them towards (seemingly) unavoidable consequences. Family time, independence, motor skills, exercise, reading, being creative, and so on, are constantly at risk for being replaced by technology in the lives of today’s youth! Ultimately, technology needs to be defined as a potentially harmful resource! It is no longer good enough to misinform children of the dangers of technology! Society as a whole needs to take a new approach to it’s view on technology! Technology can and should be a good thing! As long as we remember that lemons should be used to make lemonade, not catastrophes!
{ eliz@beth } 
