Liz Parnell

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Technology - Finding a Balance PDF Print E-mail
Friday, 21 November 2008 18:06
Technology, while created to make our lives easier, often complicates them further or creates new problems.
if fire was one of man's first tools, the out-of-control forest fire set accidentally was probably one of mankind's first examples of technology out of control. For technological determinists, the greatest irony of all is the very idea that mankind can control technology... Too often, determinists argue, technologists believe that the answer to problems created by technology is simply more technology. Instead, solutions to one technological problem create others.
From Controlling Technology

There are numerous examples of technology designed to enhance lives, actually taking away from lives.
the case of the invention of the mechanical clock by Benedictine monks who desired to mark the seven canonical hours for devotions. For Postman, the instrument conceived for the service of God became a tool of capitalists in the service of Mammon. For Mumford, "Time-keeping passed into time-serving and time-accounting and time-rationing. As this took place, Eternity ceased gradually to serve as the measure and focus of human actions".


There are many ways we can control the intrusions that technology makes in our lives. In Tony Campolo's book he has a chapter entitled "how to protect yourself from technology without becoming Amish". In it he suggests things like using your answering machine to screen calls. For example, we do not answer the phone during dinner and leave the call to go through to the answering machine. Nine times out of ten the caller either hangs up or a telemarketer leaves a message on the machine. The intrusion would have been unwanted and unnecessary at any time of day and moreso at dinner time.

The computer has enriched our lives in many ways. It provides inexpensive contact with family and friends in distant locations. It even provides free communication (via instant messaging) with my mother who only lives ten minutes away, when before the internet, we would have had to make a local call. Email means I can leave someone a message at a time convenient to me and they can respond at a time convenient to them. We have access to an enormous amount of information (which can be a blessing and a curse) and free access to newspaper and magazine articles. I can do my banking and bill paying without having to leave the house.

However, the ease of access can sometimes tie us to the machine. It creates an expectation (along with mobile phones) of being contactable all day, every day and a pressure to stay up to date with the latest news and developments. Joining online forums creates an instant community for people who are isolated, but brings the added pressure of keeping in contact with an enormous number of people you would otherwise not encounter in your daily life.