A Parting Note

Sometimes I think when technology will become too much technology. Do we really need all these gizmos and gadgets being churned out like nuts and bolts? I try and go back to the Socratic question. Why do we need technology? Was it not supposed to free the human race from the drudgeries of labour. And if it was has it fulfilled its mission? Are we not tied up with work more than any of our previous generations?

The ubiquitous web around us has really caught us up in its tentacles. We have hundreds and thousands of friends on social networking sites but hardly have we met up with most of them. Leave them apart we hardly care to know about our next door neighbors. Are we not busy with our professional obligation almost all the time? People say technology has enabled us to continue working even when travelling. How many times we were disturbed by the ringing of the cell phone when having an intimate conversation or just trying to be with oneself? Do we not have a right to few peaceful moments for ourselves? Do we need to keep on slogging at all times?

Sometimes I think of children and the amount of technology they are exposed to. Earlier we feared children turning into couch potatoes. Now we have another demon in the form of internet and game consoles. Violent games from an early age could severely impact the mental conditioning of children. Danger lurks at many corners in the virtual domain called internet. The question becomes paramount as to when and in what ways should the children be exposed to technology. Gone are the joys of seeing a little plant grow or playing in the gardens. Now we sit for hours in front of machines.

Sometimes I also think have we not become machines ourselves. We still may be the masters when the control over machines is concerned. But I am spooked by the thought of the day when technology goes bust. Today we are becoming so much dependent on machines that their failure could wreak havoc on our lives. Our memories are shrinking. We no longer remember phone numbers or email ids or birthdays of friends. Everything is stored in devices. The day may come when we will entrust the machines with remembering our own selves. That does sound spooky to me. Suppose the machine went bust and we will not be able to remember who we were.

My concerns may seem exaggerated but not totally out of order. We definitely need to decide how much technology is too much technology; lest we cede control to robots and all those Hollywood fiction about machines becoming masters may become realities sooner than later.

Hasta La Vista !!