Does technology really make life easier?

I grew up in the 1960s and 1970s when there were no computers, PDAs, or cell phones. There was no microwave, no DVD, no MP3 players and only about 7 good TV stations. We didn’t stay home and play video games all day because there were no video games to speak of back then. Instead, we play outside, talk to our friends on the phone, and listen to music.

I was saying this to my two children the other day and they were stunned because they found this concept hard to grasp. I suspect I did the same as a child when my own parents told me about their childhood and what the world was like.

Today we are told that technology is here to make our lives easier. The microwave helps us cook food faster. The Internet helps us get information faster and allows us to stay connected with friends, family, and business associates. We have more television stations to give us more options, we have cell phones so we can stay in touch with each other, and we have laptops so we can access the Internet anywhere in the world.

Ok… let’s take a look at that last paragraph again.

From where I’m sitting, it seems like all of our sophisticated modern technology has done the opposite… it’s made our lives crazier! It has given us less time instead of more.

If you are in your twenties or thirties, think about your parents’ childhood and what life was like back then. If you’re forty or older (like me… sigh), then think back to your own childhood. What happened to everyone when office hours came to an end? What happened when people left work and went home?

What did you do?

They remained.

They had time to think and reflect and do something very few of us do in today’s world…they relaxed!

When I was a kid, we didn’t have cell phones or laptops, so we would relax, go out to dinner, take a walk, watch TV, listen to music, and read a book. We turned off our minds for a while and allowed it to reset.

Modern technology has taken this away from us. Instead of resting when we get home from work, we work on our laptops and constantly check our PDAs. We grab our cell phones and answer them wherever we are…in restaurants, on airplanes, in movie theaters, on soccer fields, in our car…everywhere!

When exactly do we rest and allow our minds to go off for a while?

Modern technology has made things more difficult. It has unleashed a monster called stress that is making our world sick and tired. It distracts us. It owns us!

Have you seen the Terminator movies? The one where machines rule the earth? Guess what? Machines rule our land. Not in as disgusting a way as the movie, but they rule the land nonetheless. Technology rules.

Stress is a nasty thing that causes some even nastier illnesses, and there are no antibiotics you can take to combat it. Stress kills and there is only one cure for it.

You need to rest.

Ron and I recently went to Disneyworld in Florida with our children. We took our cell phones and laptop because we wanted to check our email and voicemail while we were there. However, for some strange reason, most of the cell phones were left in the room because we forgot to bring them and didn’t even turn on the laptop. Before we knew it, we went almost an entire week without checking any of our messages. I checked them about halfway through the week and returned a few calls, but for the most part everything stayed off.

Did the world end? Did we lose our company? Did the customers leave?

No.

We came home with refreshed minds and returned calls, answered emails, and life went on. We were tired of course (have you ever done four theme parks in four days?), but nothing happened. Life as we know it is not over! Instead, we were able to focus on the job at hand because we were refreshed and relaxed.

Technology accelerates our ability to do things. We can do research faster, cook faster, and get in touch with other people faster. However, it also makes us feel the need to stay in touch all the time! We feel like we have to check our email at 10:00 at night, we have to answer that phone at dinner, and we have to check our PDA every hour no matter where we are.

When do you rest and turn off your mind?

I understand that everyone wants to move on. I totally get it. However, to move forward, from time to time you need to take a few steps back so that you can better see where you want to go.

So what can we do?

We can turn off the computer after dinner and not turn it on again until the morning. We can turn off our cell phone from time to time and let the voice mail answer it. Can we take a walk. We can go on vacation without the laptop. We may even go on vacation and only check our voicemail once or twice! The world will not stop! People might think you’ve been kidnapped, but so what? You will contact them again.

If you don’t rest and let your body and brain reset, then your body will break down. In the end, technology will deprive you of the true quality of life because it will make you sick and you won’t be able to do what you want to do.

So here is my challenge…

I challenge each and everyone reading this article to lose their cell phone for a day or two and see what happens. I challenge you to turn off your computer around 6pm and under no circumstances turn it back on until the next morning for a week. Then look what happens!

Everyone tells you that you need to eat right and get plenty of exercise. Totally true! However, there is a third, even more important key to life…you need to rest!

So turn your mind off for a while. Listen to some music. Read a book. Talk to your children. Go shopping. Go to a comedy show and have a laugh.

Stop ignoring what your body tells you! I know he’s been urging you to slow down and take a breather. listen to it. You know what you’re doing.

Enough talk.

Now let’s see… I’m writing an article about the ills of technology on my computer, my phone is ringing next to me and an email just arrived.

Hmmm… I guess it might be time to take a break!