Can Technology Make Us Lazy?

Are you one of those people who avoid technology like it's the plague (or should I say Ebola)? Do you embrace all the newest and fastest gadgets the stores have to offer? Or are you a fence sitter?

Here are a few observations and perhaps you can help me determine if there is a common denominator.

• Do you call someone and leave them a message only to have them call you back and say, "Hi, I saw that you called." To which you reply, "O.k., did you listen to my message?" And then their frustrating response is, "No, but I saw that you called. What did you want?"

Does technology tend to make some people lazy? Do they take the easy way out, check the caller ID - but not bother to actually listen to the message?

• Do you find yourself emailing someone and asking them 3 or 4 questions in the content of the email, yet when they respond they haven't actually read the 'whole' email? They respond to 1 out of 4 questions and disregard the other 3. That becomes a gross waste of time because if you still need your answers now you have to email them back again.
• Then there are those people who will give you their email address but claim they never check it. So ... why do they have one?

Do you think technology overwhelms some people? Do they feel obligated by society to participate, but they don't really want to?

 

Technology, in its many forms, certainly has great purpose, but I also think it can create a sense of disconnect. Yes, computers and emails and Facebook and cell phones are convenient, but they also make it easy to lose touch. When was the last time you wrote a letter (you know, that thing with pen and paper and an envelope and a stamp)? I know many elderly people and college students who would much rather check their 'mailbox' instead of their 'inbox'.

 

Which side of the technology fence do you sit on? Does it help you or hinder you? Does it make you more social or more of a loner? What's your favorite forms of technology and why? For example, maybe you like a Kindle because you don't have the space to store actual books ... on the other hand maybe you prefer the smell of a good bound book and enjoy turning a page and using a bookmark.