Words To Live By? Let me start by introducing an idea:

“All of the biggest technological inventions created by man – the airplane, the automobile, the computer – says little about his intelligence, but speaks volumes about his laziness.”

– Mark Kennedy (Author)

Do you agree with Kennedy?

For me, I actually disagree with Mark Kennedy. Mark Kennedy may doubt man’s ability to do work, but take a moment to think about how much effort, and hours of trial and error were taken to create the technological inventions today. Keep in mind inventions did not merely take hours to make.

So What? Before I dive further in, if you’ll just bear with me, I will explain exactly how our overuse of seemingly helpful technological advancements are hindering our well being.

To continue, inventions took work and a whole lot of self-drive to complete.

One perfect example of driven inventors are the Wright brothers.

First Fully Functional Airplane: Source

The Wright brothers invented the first airplane. It took four years just to gain first flight and throughout those years many trials were conducted.

Two other inventors, J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly were continuously working at the University of Pennsylvania to create ENIAC: the first computer. It took three years to fully develop!

First Fully Functional Computer: Source

Each of these new technological advancements are quite spectacular. Something more revolutionary opened up as technology was continuously improving: the ability to store information online. The ability to store information in a viral database was game-changing.

The Internet, a Viral Database, Stores Everything We Know: Source

With a growing database, our brains have another resource to obtain information from and this resource is seemingly infinite in what it can offer. I know my intellectual growth is dependent on technology as the internet is where I learn everything I know.

Problems? Dependency on the internet, however, brings forth a problem. While our dependency on it has grown immensely, due to the accessibility and efficiency of technology, some claim it is doing more harm than good. Basically what I am saying is, technology is turning us into mindless zombies. In some cases, we have become obsessed over the perks of technology.

Hopefully We Avoid This Alternative Zombie Apocalypse: Source

Sure, I believe that the technological advances I mentioned earlier (first airplane and first computer) are spectacular and have driven our society forward. But the problem with technology is we have become so accustomed to rely on it for basic needs such as acquiring information online, that we are fading away from basic human interactions.

Take a look at the image below:

The Wrong Kind of Family Bonding: Source

Here the creator, Eric Pickersgill, eliminated the phones and tablets to show just how our human nature has been altered by a screen. It astonishes me to see the family sitting together yet not socializing.

For me, I know I’ve been on my phone at the dinner table with family and I really shouldn’t be, but only until I saw this image did I fully register how different our society is from the past generations. Some say technology has advanced us in society, but one should also look into if technology is hindering our social relationships by preventing us from engaging in basic conversations.

I may start asking myself that question: Source

Is Technological Change Still Good? Change is not bad, and technological shifts are not entirely a bad thing. We don’t live off of technology, we live off of air, food, and water. I see humanity too often relying on technology as if our life depends on it. Technology is just a tool to enhance what we can do and how we do it.

“So let’s take the time to think through what we can do, because we can do a lot. But there’s a could-do, should-do, and must-do filter. There are a lot of things we could do, but should we?”

– Daniel Burrus (Technology Futurist)

We, as innovators, are just finding alternative ways to enhance our life. Therefore, we need to mention know how to properly use technology. Just as Burrus says, we need to take the time and filter how technology is utilized.

Burrus also says another quote which I personally like:

“Technology can give you cancer, and technology can cure your cancer.”

– Daniel Burrus (Technology Futurist)

I have discovered that my own intellect can be enhanced through technology. Yes, the dinner table may be an inappropriate place for using smartphones, and we may be subjected to being lazy just as Mark Kennedy mentions earlier. But we can overcome our laziness because we have the ability to diagnose and solve our problems with technology just as Burrus claims. We have the tool to fix our world.

In all, technology should always enhance life, not be detrimental to it.