Sometimes I Hate Technology

A week before Christmas, my cell phone died.  Understandably, I had a mini panic attack.  Without my phone, I couldn’t wish my friends “Happy Holidays” with a thoughtful mass text.  I couldn’t ignore strangers on the subway by playing BrickBreaker to pass the time.  Sans phone, I didn’t even know what time it was.

Personally, my cell phone has often caused me tremendous stress (dropping calls) and bouts of uncontrollable rage (dropping dead).  While being wireless-less is terrifying, having a cell phone is also a chore.  With web-enabled phones hooking us up to Twitter and Facebook, there is always the expectation that we need to start sharing.  Back in the old days (as in, the 19th century), we’d only have to answer the dreaded trilogy of questions once (“Where are you?  What are you doing?  How was your day?”), when we got home from plowing the fields or mining for gold.  Now, we must answer those questions every time we pick up the freaking phone.

Digital cameras are just as bad.  We have all become compelled to capture every second of the day on camera.  Even insignificant moments are saved in perpetuity: I probably have several hundred pictures of strangers, unknown places, and unflattering close-ups of my face.  Taking terrible photos (and deleting them) occupies an incredible amount of time and energy.  Can you imagine if we had this photo-mania in the old days?  “Let’s sit for an oil painting in front of your dorm!” [two hours later] “Now, let’s sit for an oil painting with these cute squirrels!” [two hours later] “Come on, let’s get an oil painting of you with all these people you don’t know.  Squeeze in, real tight, like you’re all friends.  Stay there for two hours now, and smile!”

Back in the old days, things were so simple.  We didn’t have to worry about cell phone radiation or parental paparazzi-induced blindness.  We weren’t playing Oregon Trail; we were living it.  Back then, we only captured memories of things that were important.  We actually had to make an effort to reach out to our friends (real friends, not Facebook friends).  “Mother, I am taking the horse and buggy to Josiah’s… I need to return a poke.  Be back in four days.”

Albert Einstein once said, “It is appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.”  With our voyeuristic, snap-happy, poke-slutty ways, I believe his quote is rather appropriate.  Of course, he was talking about atomic bombs, not cell phones and cameras… But, if the shoe fits…