By Maryam Abdul Mohsen
Human beings are at it again. In this 21st century, human beings are successful in inventing numerous technological devices, but does technology benefit us or have human beings become slaves to their own inventions?
Thousands of iPhones, Android phones, televisions, radios, laptops, cookers, microwave ovens are available daily to enable us to lead a more comfortable life. However, the endless inventions have caused a canvas of new illnesses and diseases. Technology has somewhat control or enslave us. And this has an impact on our intellectual ability.
For instance, real life conversations are barely heard of. We use text messages via WhatsApp to communicate with others even when we are in the same room. Consequently, this leads to poor social and communication skills among youth today. People are more interested in screen-based conversations than meeting face-to-face on a sunny day in an awesome café with friends and family members.
Next, ring a bell for room service or dial a series of numbers to order fast food at your service. During the golden days, people used to work hard to prepare food and put them on the table, but now even food are in processed form. No more the fun of taking pride in cooking your own food.
Then, there’s the television, the big screen that is used to entertain the hearts of citizens of the world. A father who does not know how to entertain his kid, would simply turn on the television instead of bringing his kid to enjoy outdoor activities such as cycling, swimming or flying kites with his kid. Children have been exposed to gadgets at an early age and this will not do any good for them when they grow up in future.
Television programmes have caused lack of imagination among children and adults alike. Although, television programmes have some brilliant and creative ideas, those ideas were not stimulated by viewers, but rather by producers and script writers. Lack of imagination results in low intellectual ability as well as an impediment to the development of society.
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have become the main attractions for people of the world as though they are intrigued by status updates, funny videos and fake photos rather than going outdoors to gain their own experience.
And something that really ticks me off is the digital camera. People nowadays take really lots of pictures. I was at the supermarket one day and saw many people taking pictures of products and packaged food. The thing that crossed my mind was the thought that the camera had stolen something valuable from us, which is our photographic memory. It’s as though we’re brain dead and our brain is useless in remembering things. See we tend to take the easy way out.
How will we develop our intellectual ability when as students we no longer jot down notes but simply take a photograph of the notes on our smartphones or print the slides from the university’s official website?
Cameras have also increased vanity among us. Selfies make us sick when we try to perfect one single picture of us so that it will be liked by the public, in our objective to become a mini celebrity.
These examples I am giving here are just to name a few. The list goes on and on.
Yes, I am not against using the devices which have made our lives more comfortable and tolerable. However, I am in a rage when we do not look up from our devices, or put them aside for a moment and enjoy life without gadgets. Wherever we are, in classrooms or cafeterias, we tend to be too absolved into the devices that we do not even entertain some one having coffee or meal with us.
The fact is technology has controlled our conversation. We either do not converse or are losing our ability to converse.
The bitter sweet truth, technology have made us dumb and lazy! Men shouldn’t be slaves to their own technological inventions. Cheers!
Photo taken from isiQiri