The Tyranny of Technology

Technology is here; no doubt about it. If you track the progress of technology over the last century, the graph would look like a hockey stick. At the far end it rises slowly and steadily, but in the last few decades it climbs exponentially. Technology has had lots of interesting effects on our society. The Industrial Age pushed lots of us into cities where it used to be that far more were scattered out in farmland and small communities. Technology has brought us easier cooking, new ways to keep in touch, easier data accumulation and storage, new ways to travel, and much more. It has, in many ways, made life easier, leaving us more time for leisure. Why, then, are we not more rested?

What is fascinating to me is to track the effect of "want" versus "need" -- especially in such a short time frame. In less than a single lifetime, things that were desires have transformed into absolute necessities. Consider, for instance, life in the '50's. What did a couple, first starting out their marriage, require to survive? Well, they needed a home -- shelter -- some place to cook and store food, a place to sleep, and likely something on which to sit when they weren't sleeping. Necessities were pretty simple. Televisions were brand new on the market and a bit too expensive for your average home, so that luxury was not a necessity. Even telephones were spotty. Some people used a common phone. Some shared a common line (called a "party line"). Some drove into town to use a phone. In the '50's, in fact, there were still houses without running water, electricity, or bathroom plumbing. These were not necessities. Entertainment might be a Saturday night in town at the movie house, reading books, or listening to The Shadow and Inner Sanctum on the radio. Neighborhoods were made up neighbors -- families with children, wives that made houses into homes, husbands that provided for their family during the week and mowed lawns with those push mowers -- you get the idea.

Go forward a single decade and things shift. Televisions are becoming more prevalent. As early as the late '60's, if you didn't have a TV, you weren't up to date. More people needed cars; not just wanted, needed. Electricity and running water were needed. By 1975 the sale of microwave ovens (quaintly called "radar ranges") exceeded regular stoves. Oh, and there was a telephone in every house. In 1973 Motorola came out with a cell phone prototype. You know the ones. They were bigger than your average shoe. Most "mobile phones" were permanently installed in cars and were not for the average person. In 1978 Bell Labs launched the first cellular network called "Amps" -- and, no, this was not for everyone. Apple came out with "home computers" in the mid-'70's, but they weren't for home, really. They were primarily used by businesses. But the really lucky kids had an Atari for entertainment purposes.

Jump forward to the 80's. Computers are coming into their own, but the common man still doesn't have one at home. What does he have? Well, every home needs two cars and at least one television on top of the needs of the '50's couple. The family needs a microwave oven and a toaster and air conditioning if the climate is warm. They may not have a cell phone, but someone probably has a pager by the late '80's. The wives have long since stopped making homes and gone to work, either to "fulfill themselves" or to meet the needs of the rising cost of supporting a family. Of course, birth rates start to drop some. I mean, who can work full time and have children? We need to have more stuff ... but children aren't a necessity.

Another decade and things change again. In the 90's and into the 21st century, needs have shifted. We cannot survive without computers, cell phones, televisions, multiple automobiles, and more. Little children going to school must have cell phones. A couple of years ago an elementary school made the news by trying to ban them. It wasn't just the children who protested; it was the parents, too. Their kids needed those phones, and they needed them to be on all the time. And what kind of cruel parent would deny their poor child the absolutely necessary iPod or equivalent? Kids can't get by without their audio lifeline plugged into their ears. It's simple need. They must be able to text their friends. It's a matter of survival. They have to have their computer, connected to the Internet, along with some sort of game system for entertainment. As for families, the need for children is largely gone. Who needs progeny? In fact, that whole "'til death do us part" thing is no longer necessary, is it? Marriage is optional. Values aren't really necessary. Technology, on the other hand, is vital.

Now, I know it's not solely the product of technology. It's more the product of human beings. It is the result of human greed and pride and envy. It is that childish "Mine!" thing that sees what another has and must have it or die. But we adults seem to lose sight of the simplicity of life. What is really needful? And what, of all the "new necessities", is worth the cost? Much of our technology has served to separate rather than join people. Even so-called "social networking", while appearing to bring people together, fails to make genuine, in-person contact, and despite what you might think, any social interaction that is not face-to-face is not the same, as any parent whose child has ever ended up in conversations with a "12-year-old girl" who turns out to be a 40-year-old child molester can tell you. Childhood obesity has replaced "playing outdoors". Doctors are now treating new syndromes brought on by too much videogaming or too much texting. It seems, thanks to our human nature, that, instead of controlling our technology, we've succumbed to it. At what point do we give in completely? And at what cost have we come this far? I'm sure I'm not the only one asking these questions.