Technology: Not exactly the blessing it is made out to be

A common belief about technology is that it makes our lives much ‘easier’. Washing machines and dishwashers have been seen as major catalysts for women’s liberation since they allow women to do something beyond the ‘drudgery’ of daily house work. But this assumption about technology has been challenged on the grounds that technological products can only be a part of much larger changes in society which allow women to work outside their homes.

Technology has also been seen as an important agent of social change, particularly in the domain of democracy and governance. The availability of texts in the web has democratised information and knowledge.

On the other hand, there are also some important critiques of technology. The effect of technology on human society and the natural environment has been tremendous. The effects on societies and nature due to hundreds of wars have left a debilitating, inerasable mark both on the human psyche as well as on the Earth. By some accounts, nearly 200 million youth, women and children have died in wars and armed conflict over the last century. The dropping of the atomic bombs and the proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear waste is another troubling aspect of technological use.

Technocrats argue that the problems related to technology are primarily about its use by individuals and communities. An oft-quoted example in this context is that a knife is useful for cutting vegetables but can also kill. So their argument is that one should not blame technology but only the people who use it wrongly.  However, this argument is too simplistic and is primarily used to deflect accountability. Why create certain kinds of technology when people are not mature enough to use them properly? We should be reminded of folk stories which point out how dangerous it is to give a tool to monkeys! So if humans are not developed enough to deal with technology then is it ethical to keep producing these technologies?

While these considerations are true for technology in general, today’s technology has raised a new set of problems. The digital technology of today is not merely for improving the drudgery of everyday life. Instead, it has become a genie to pamper our uncontrolled desires. It has pushed us towards extreme individualism and along with it, a lack of social responsibility. More worryingly, by seemingly taking care of our desires, it has made us willing prisoners who are willing to give up on hard-fought liberties like privacy.

Consider the cell phone. While most people would eloquently praise the uses of the cell, we should remember the other side of the story. This object, like many others in contemporary technology, creates a tremendous sense of anxiety and alienation. It allows you to carry your universe in your hands but in doing so, it also alienates you from others around you. Perversely, it has made easier a culture of deception since the caller does not really know where you are when you answer the phone.

All of us, at one time or the other, must have been irritated by the intrusion of the cell phone. Nowadays we listen to unwanted conversations even in private spaces. You cannot travel in a train — the most romantic of introspective journeys — without listening to the details of your neighbours’ private lives. You cannot sit in a movie theatre without a running commentary by those speaking in the phones around you. In concerts, people add their voice to the music just to say hello and to add that they were in a concert!

The greatest urge today seems to be the urge to answer the phone; for many, the urge to answer their phone has superseded their urge to go to the toilet. Psychiatrists must love these gadgets, as also the Internet, since they are now identified as a major cause of new psychological disorders. 

Parents too adore these gadgets for they think it gives them greater control over their children. Governments are not far behind, for never has it been easier to keep the citizens so much under the gaze of the Big Mother. The government knows every time where you are, who you are talking to and what you are talking about. Pity Snowden had to make such a fuss about this trivial preoccupation of governments.   

Digital technology is a blessing for students. They don’t have to worry about spelling mistakes since the computer auto-corrects their mistakes. When they are forced to write without the help of a computer, they write very funny and creative pieces with new spellings never thought of before.  The greatness of this technology is that it has finally destroyed any hope of realizing the traditional ideals of education: the three Rs, reading, writing and arithmetic. 

The alienation due to these technologies has become so intense that family members and friends text each other even when they are sitting close to one another. Tourists nowadays seem to be more enamoured of their gadgets than by the scenery around them.

Emails will soon become the primary reason for divorces. Nobody can doubt that emails are a great revolution. But this email culture leads to anxiety attacks. A friend told me that everytime he gets up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet, he checks his email. People get terribly anxious if they don’t get instant replies to their emails. Immediate responses, as in emails, rather than measured ones, often lead to disastrous consequences.

This new technology has taken us back to a childhood state: we want our desires to be pampered instantly. These technologies have become our bottle nipple and diaper at the same time. So feel free and go buy your next set of gadgets which will free you to become more enslaved.

The author is director of the Manipal Centre for Philosophy and Humanities, Manipal University