Technology has penetrated in most of the activities and livelihood of human beings. With the penetration of technology there has been tremendous change in the method of work and activities of people. Technology has helped reduce cumbersome tasks, increase speed of transactions, eased the tasks of repetitive nature, helped people to forecast the output of efforts and has assisted at almost all places like a personal assistant.
Earlier while the penetration of technology was in its inception, it was taken as innovation and means of modernization. People using technology were considered as affluent, rich and forward minded as cost of using technology was not everyone’s cup of tea. Utilization of technology was limited to productive and business tasks. Transactions of business houses were doubled or multiplied more than couple of times with the advent of technology. The out put, capacity, productivity and over all transactions of business house increased.
Technology earlier was considered as a boon for business and it found its place amongst the business houses. However, technology has not kept itself limited to business houses it has expanded itself from production to trading, transport, printing and publication, marketing, distribution channels, Accounting and finance, science and medicine, research and development and what not.
The major shift came in the life of people when technology found itself in communication. With the advent of technology in communication the use of it grew from production houses to common people. With modern day technology in communication, the speed and volumes of communication has increased manifold. People are making use of technology for calling, texting, messaging, post updates, feedbacks, opinions, post notes, social communication, mass communication, personal communication, etc.
The second major shift came in the life of people when technology entered the field of education. Officially technology entered the class rooms and is taught to the innocent minds. Use of computers has eased the understanding of people. The method of teaching has changed from boring lectures to entertaining multimedia houses. The means of teaching that was limited to a classroom expanded by continents through virtual class room concepts. People came more close to each other by use of technology and more of expertise could be shared with larger audiences with the means of technology.
Technology has supported growth, productivity and elevated lifestyles of people all over the globe. The world is becoming a global village with use of technology.
As every coin has other side, likewise technology has its own adverse effects. Use of technology has eased our lifestyles but has also made us dependent on it. People who used to remember important dates of birthdays and anniversaries have started make use of silly applications to keep reminders about it. People that used to prioritize the work and verbal communication have started making use of communication devises lavishly and have started disturbing each other over petty matters. In turn, technology has made us dependent on it and has diminished our productivity in lieu of boosting it. People have stopped using brains and have started over use of gadgets. Common Sense has now become a productivity tool rather than foundation of logic in one’s mind. People have stopped using intelligence within oneself and have started to use artificial intelligence found in gadgets, devices and software. Overall, technology has made us Slaves of it. We are too much dependent on mobile phones, computers, calculators and such modern gadgets that we avoid making effort even where required. Sincerely, I would not bother to switch of lights or fans if it could be put on timers or controlled by a remote device. This is what is going to be hazardous on the long run. Rather it has started showing its ill effects. More and more people are becoming obese, more and more kids are becoming hyper active and indulging in disastrous activities rather than constructive, innocent and creative activities. We have more people suffering from partial or total dementia (memory loss) in the 21st century as compared to earlier days. People have started eating according to the calorie value rather than to satisfy the hunger. Students have found out ways to photocopy, share or cut paste rather than creating or recreating the material. People have started use of call communication over mobile phones for silly matters like shopping rather than making a list and taking effort to jot down the requirements. In one way or the other we are getting enslaved by the use of technology.
Just imagine what would happen if due to some reason we are deprived of electricity for few hours or days. Just imagine what would happen if due to some reasons the world servers got hanged for few hours or days. Just imagine what would happen if we just got back into the past where such technology was not there. Just imagine if WhatsApp and Face book force closed their operations. Nobody can imagine the answers of these questions. A simple imagination itself will create silence and put a halt on the activity that we are doing presently.
It’s time we put halt on dependence on technology. Let’s learn to be Masters of Technology and not its Slave. Master here is in the sense of possession and not as expertise of technology. It is we who should possess technology and not us that should get possessed by technology. It is we, who should be using technology for our comforts and ease of transaction and not technology that should be using us in lieu of making systematic transactions.
=The next question is how to proceed ahead to become Master of technology and not slave? The answer is very simple; delimit the use of technology in day to day life. Value life and livelihood events more than the use of technology, give priority to the person present in front of you than the person at a far distance and over phone. Value the face more than face book. Have consideration for physical presence of person and be sensitive towards the real needs rather than pseudo wants. Ask relevant questions and pass only necessary information rather than gossiping or chit chatting over WhatsApp. These communication mediums were introduced to decrease gap and increase proximity but not to increase gap with near ones. Set out your priorities in the right direction and as per the weightage of relation and do not burden the relation due to directionless use of technology. Naturally, your family members value more than the things you possess. Do not compromise the amount of time you spend with your family members and friends in real, rather over spending on the ones that are not with you. Make logical use of technology and not illogical and over use. Let’s not be multitasking always, give some tasks in your life more priority and be single tasking when such task is to be performed. Take the pleasure of food by dining together with family rather than focusing on news on TV or any other entertaining program.
One can mark hours in a day when not to use technology and be away from such side effects for that time period. One should set timings where he/she will switch off the mobile phones, shut down the TV and spent some time with family and near ones. As Warren Buffet commented, “If you spend on unnecessary things then a day will come that you will have to loose that is necessary.” Likewise, if one makes over and unnecessary use of technology than one will have to loose that is necessary and requires attention. After all, technology was invented to ease the errands of life and give us comfort and happiness, but not to increase our discomfort or hassles. Thus, we should try to make necessary use of technology and not to get possessed by it. Traditions should be set in family for togetherness and to stay away from the perils of technology. Teachers should take the initiative to guide the next generation for the perils and overuse of technology and social media. Rather than stopping those to use technology teachers should guide them to make right and proper use of technology. As individuals one should exercise control and monitor use of social media, TV, and such gadgets in regular life. The list of such suggestions is exhaustive and cannot be generalized. One cannot suggest others on how to delimit their dependence on gadgets and technology. It can only be exercised with willingness and will power of the one own self.
In general we should control our temptations and implement schedules to use technology so as to enable our Master Hood over technology. Lastly, its time we put halt on the over use of technology and start focusing on what Gandhi, the father of Nation suggested, “Limit your requirements and do your work your own self.”
