Anyone else sick of technology?

[SingleMomDebt]

I used to love technology. but now its a pain. my complex just had us install a smart phone app to open the doors to various amenities on the grounds. Seriously, just keep the key access. i do not like this.

and concerts...i despise smart phones at concerts. no one can enjoy watching it live w/out their phones. they sit there and record the whole thing. just pop watch it on youtube later. such a distraction with everyone holding their arms up to record.

so yes, semi agree with AM43. for me, its partial technology i am sick of (matter #1) and people using that technology (matter #2).

[MandalayVA]

It's not so much the technology as the assholes using it.  Our upstairs neighbor, who is nearly forty, will sit there during HOA meetings and text like a teenager the entire time if allowed.  In the last meeting he wasn't because our newest neighbor shamed him.  Needless to say, I like our new neighbor.  :D 

[Jouer]

I used to love technology. but now its a pain. my complex just had us install a smart phone app to open the doors to various amenities on the grounds. Seriously, just keep the key access. i do not like this.

and concerts...i despise smart phones at concerts. no one can enjoy watching it live w/out their phones. they sit there and record the whole thing. just pop watch it on youtube later. such a distraction with everyone holding their arms up to record.

so yes, semi agree with AM43. for me, its partial technology i am sick of (matter #1) and people using that technology (matter #2).

Oh yes. People who have to record a whole concert. Sure, make a small video as a keep-sake. A minute or two. But there is no reason to record more than that. Enjoy the damn event in the moment. Besides, you can see tons of concert footage on youtube so there is no reason to record so much yourself. Also, your phone is in my sightline - put that shit away.

[moof]

I'm on downward end of the technology curve as well.

In my teens and early 20's I was into programming, engineering, gadgets for gadgets sake, learning about it all for the sake of learning it all.  As life got busier it turned into a chore to maintain my current level of trivia on the latest processors, OS's, and gadgets.  Soon it was a time sink that was not worth it.

today technology turns over so amazingly often I have no pretense of being able to keep up, nor do I want to.

My smart phone is far more than I need or want, I got it as the cheapest phone that let me take good pictures and text my wife without being loaded up with bloatware.  I had two previous lower end phones that became unusable due to pushed updates that overfilled the on-board memory.

I work in engineering and my love affair with computers has settled into a pragmatic one where they are tools, and I don't ascribe anything more to them.  I customize setting only enough for things not to piss me off, and no more.  Who knows, I might be laid off next week and have to start bringing yet another work PC up to a functional state at the next office.  So why bother doing anything beyond knocking off the rough edges.

I have no smart thermostat, or home automation.  Widgets are so badly supported after the sale that I see no point in installing anything fancier than a dimmer switch.

I yearn for backpacking trips and toys to get me outside far more than computer widgets I will have to be a nanny for.

[Schaefer Light]

Really, I just don't want to be interrupted by nearly universally meaningless/unnecessary messages, or a boss' sense that you can be emailed and services can be demanded from you at any hour. I don't ever respond to "you there?" text follow-ups (two minutes after the previous text). And if someone texts me 5 times, I sometimes text back "you're holding a phone."

The expectation of immediate response has made every profession more taxing as much as it has made it easier. I am fortunate to have terrible service where I am - I get most of the benefits of instant communication and none of the expectation that I'll respond in under 10 minutes! Haha.

That's what I hate about it.  It's not so much the technology itself as it is the expectation that we're going to be constantly connected to it.  The people I work with won't even leave the cell phone inside while they mow their grass.  Like the world's gonna' end if they miss a call.

[Samuel]

Learning to self-impose boundaries with technology has become an essential skill for a healthy life, but then again so is eating well and exercising. As with most things, I try to concentrate on the things I can control and not the behavior of others.

Besides, all the trickle down tech I get used for cheap is made possible by the early adopters chasing the next cool thing.

[GetItRight]

I generally say I hate technology, but really only in certain aspects. I like having anything I could want to know or learn at my fingertips, even while out and about. I like being able to use Mint to track all my spending and income, this wouldn't happen in nearly so granular detail or so accurately without technology. I like getting discounts on most purchases by using credit cards. I like not having to waste time paying bills the old fashioned way. I like using my phone to learn and educate myself while out and about but waiting on anything.

I dislike how most other people seem to be absorbed with their phones around the clock, text messaging and social media about trivial useless things rather than be receptive to conversing with a stranger while out and about... The idea of telling the world, which may or may not be listening, every time I hit the head or run an errand is alien and repulsive to me so I don't associate with those people. I dislike fancy unserviceable electronics in my vehicles and appliances, so I avoid these things. I dislike paying for TV with ads to see endless "reality shows" or propaganda style "news", so I don't pay for or watch those things.

Generally I just use and enjoy the technology that adds value to my life and ignore that which does not. I also generally dislike people, at least in the area I live, as I find them selfish and sometimes aggressively so. Traveling to some regions is refreshing as that doesn't seem to be the norm everywhere, just in heavily liberal or statist regions.

[Linea_Norway]

<...>

I dislike how most other people seem to be absorbed with their phones around the clock, text messaging and social media about trivial useless things rather than be receptive to conversing with a stranger while out and about... <...>

On the other hand, it can have it's useful purposes as well. Like in our neighbourhoods with terrible steep roads. There is always someone reporting whether the road is drivable after a night with frozen rain on the ground. We can also easily ask people for help, reaching out to many. But indeed, there is also written a lot of useless stuff on social media.

[stoaX]

Yes, I get tired of technology, too. I think the trick is to only use what you like and what is important to you. Control it and don't let it control you. I try not to just cruise the Internet aimlessly, sit in front of the TV just mindlessly switching channels, or bother with my iPhone much at all. One thing that gave me a jolt when my mother died was looking through her family photo albums of the "clan" during the 1970s. There was snapshot after snapshot of people together sewing, playing board games, monkeying with the dog, playing badminton or baseball out in the yard, swimming, picnic-ing, going on outings, especially when the old-timer relatives from Europe came over. Groups of people interacting with each other doing things in real time. And yes, sitting at the table reading the (hardcopy) newspaper or writing letters with paper and pen. I would never give up my technology--it is such a great source of information and convenience and has opened the door to so many things. But I do ration it--check the news a couple times a day, not a couple times an hour. lol And I am outside a lot with my dog, and never take the iPhone with me. If I'm at dinner with anybody, I have a personal rule that my iPhone stays in my purse, and is never on the table. I hesitate to mention this next one, because I know this is a very secular group--but I've discovered the Liturgy of the Hours online. What a godsend (no pun intended) to go along with the hardcopy Christian Prayer book and figure out where you're supposed to be for Lauds, Vespers, Compline, etc.  That stuff is majorly complicated, and the Internet (Universalis.com for instance) helps a lot. But I got interested in the LOTH from watching the Brother Cadfael mysteries on TV, believe it or not. A weird amalgamation of technology leading to something ancient and no-tech...to leading back to something modern and involving tech. Hmmmm.

The hardcopy version of the LOTH is complicated and I stopped doing it years ago - never thought to just go online - thanks!  And I agree that it is interesting how modern tech can lead to something ancient. 

[checkedoutat39]

I own stocks in telecom companies, so please, people, keep your nose buried in your phone.

My 4G phone cost $20 and I pay $10-15/month for service. That's about a quarter of what I was paying for a landline 20 years ago, in nominal dollars even. I can learn about things and interact with people in ways I couldn't have dreamed of back then, and it's only going to get better! I love technology.

[ltt]

Yes, I hate that the school district now tells us parents to follow them on Twitter.....yeah, right.  I just recently got a Facebook account that I don't use.

And I can't stand that I need different passwords and key phrases on accounts---drives me nuts!

[checkedoutat39]

And I can't stand that I need different passwords and key phrases on accounts---drives me nuts!

All the answers to my security questions are the name of the cat we had growing up.

What street did I live on at age 10? Smoky.
What model was my first car? Smoky.
Who was my best friend in high school? Smoky. OK, that one is true.

When I can't use the same answer multiple times I just go with smoky1, smoky2...

[sonjak]

A couple more hates/likes:

I hate that I have to have a Facebook account to sign up for the local Buy Nothing Group or to know when the Portland MMM group is meeting.  (So far I've resisted but I'm weakening....)

On the other hand, I love Skype.  It allows me to talk to my family on the other side of the country.  It helps me miss them so much less since we only see each other once a year or so.

[Spork]

And I can't stand that I need different passwords and key phrases on accounts---drives me nuts!

All the answers to my security questions are the name of the cat we had growing up.

What street did I live on at age 10? Smoky.
What model was my first car? Smoky.
Who was my best friend in high school? Smoky. OK, that one is true.

When I can't use the same answer multiple times I just go with smoky1, smoky2...

Hi.  Security guy here.  That's a bad idea.  If you're talking stupid accounts you don't care about... ok.  If you are talking every account... bad idea.  You've taken a bad idea (security questions that people are likely to be able to figure out) and given them a formula of "answer=X" for every single question.  One stupid internet site that gets hacked and has it's data dumped... and you're screwed.

Use a password manager.  Give fake answers that are different with each question/account.

What street did you live on in high school?  Woodpecker
What was your first car? statue
Who was your best friend?  tangled cables

[checkedoutat39]

Use a password manager.  Give fake answers that are different with each question/account.

Which can also be hacked. And has its own password that you have to remember somehow. Or the thing you have the password manager on crashes/gets dropped in toilet/stolen/goes out of business; now what?

Nothing is 100% hacker-proof. You just have to decide where you want your vulnerabilities to be.

[GuitarStv]

Technology is awesome.

My car is safer, my bike is cheaper, my home is better insulated.  I can record albums in my basement.  I have access to an infinite amount of music lessons and sheet music in a portable box that can be dragged around our house.  It's possible to chat with friends half way around the world at virtually no cost.

If you don't like an aspect of technology, then opt out.  This is why I don't have a facebook account or cell phone.

[LonerMatt]

Technology is awesome.

My car is safer, my bike is cheaper, my home is better insulated.  I can record albums in my basement.  I have access to an infinite amount of music lessons and sheet music in a portable box that can be dragged around our house.  It's possible to chat with friends half way around the world at virtually no cost.

If you don't like an aspect of technology, then opt out.  This is why I don't have a facebook account or cell phone.

While you're making a valid point that technology obviously brings benefits saying just 'opt out' is a very lame response.

More and more money is being spent by companies to distract as much of the global population as they can, commodifying attention and data that is ours. Very few people are critical in their examination of their usage, and even with critical thinking one is still vying against millions (maybe billions) of dollars spent to play on psychology and human reaction to divert our thinking. Some people may think they can just 'opt out', sure, but what about our friends, colleagues, families, what about the rest of society we should definitely care about?

Furthermore, in developed countries technology is seen as broadly good. Yet it's not nearly that simple. A small example: more and more schools are using computers, to many cheering parents, however there is a growing body of research showing that reading on a screen decreases a person's (not just a child's, by the way) ability to focus and decreases their attention span, resulting in skimming and scanning rather than reading. It doesn't take much to extrapolate why that's bad for education! And for life! Fuck opting out of that.

Finally, technology is becoming significantly more pervasive and embedded, and the legislative world is lagging behind. As far as I know no societies have actually ever openly debated about this - there is very little in the way of popular or political discussions about the effects of technology. This is a disastrous thing considering that the people who are making money off of technology are people who don't care about us. Opting out isn't enough when facing that.

For my fellow semi-luddites I have several book recommendations:
- You are Not a Gadget
- The Shallows: what the Internet is doing to our brains
- The Internet is not the Answer

[WhiteTrashCash]

Technology has given a lot to me in my life, especially the Internet. I found my job over the internet. I met my wife over the internet. The internet is what gave me access to the information I needed to learn how to handle bank accounts, credit, investments, etc. I've learned all kinds of useful new skills.

However, it also has a dark side that been difficult to accept. Huge industries that employed hundreds of thousands of people have been made obsolete, especially in the creative arts and manufacturing. The new industries developed as a result of changing technology haven't really replaced those lost jobs and the jobs they did create are mostly concentrated in big expensive coastal cities that many Americans have difficulty accessing. Technology changes so fast that a college degree becomes practically useless within a couple years of graduation, unless you are lucky enough to have an employer willing to pay for constant retraining. It can be hard out there these days.

When smartphones arrived, I was really happy because now I had a supercomputer with me for information wherever I went, but there's a dark side to that too. All the "free" operating systems and applications comes with a steep price: Your privacy. Social media, map programs, video sharing, etc. all sell your private information for their own profit. VPN use can only protect you so much.

I find myself sometimes pining for the old days when people didn't always know where I was and what I am doing.

[Spork]

Use a password manager.  Give fake answers that are different with each question/account.

Which can also be hacked. And has its own password that you have to remember somehow. Or the thing you have the password manager on crashes/gets dropped in toilet/stolen/goes out of business; now what?

Nothing is 100% hacker-proof. You just have to decide where you want your vulnerabilities to be.

Not as likely.  They are security audited pretty constantly.   It is one (hopefully very complex) password.

My particular manager is homebuilt with stock encryption tools and has backups stored in a safe deposit box in town.  I don't see it going out of business or getting dropped in a toilet.

[Dora the Homebody]

I LOVE technology. The internet, in particular, is immeasurably valuable to me.

Instant access to pretty much all information known to mankind? Yes please!

Effortless, video/picture/voice/text contact to friends and family around the world? Yes please!

Educational step-by-step guides, videos, support, and forums on how to do pretty much anything?  Yes please!

Also, what do you think people did on the bus prior to cell phones?  They weren't singing campfire songs together or having meaningful discussions on how to save the world.

And finally, I would suggest taking a step back and asking yourself why it drives you crazy what other people are doing, when it doesn't concern you in any way.  Would you want them judging you, or "going crazy" over the fact that you are counting your pennies, investing, etc instead of going out and "living it up" like they might be?

[GuitarStv]

Technology is awesome.

My car is safer, my bike is cheaper, my home is better insulated.  I can record albums in my basement.  I have access to an infinite amount of music lessons and sheet music in a portable box that can be dragged around our house.  It's possible to chat with friends half way around the world at virtually no cost.

If you don't like an aspect of technology, then opt out.  This is why I don't have a facebook account or cell phone.

While you're making a valid point that technology obviously brings benefits saying just 'opt out' is a very lame response.

More and more money is being spent by companies to distract as much of the global population as they can, commodifying attention and data that is ours. Very few people are critical in their examination of their usage, and even with critical thinking one is still vying against millions (maybe billions) of dollars spent to play on psychology and human reaction to divert our thinking. Some people may think they can just 'opt out', sure, but what about our friends, colleagues, families, what about the rest of society we should definitely care about?

Furthermore, in developed countries technology is seen as broadly good. Yet it's not nearly that simple. A small example: more and more schools are using computers, to many cheering parents, however there is a growing body of research showing that reading on a screen decreases a person's (not just a child's, by the way) ability to focus and decreases their attention span, resulting in skimming and scanning rather than reading. It doesn't take much to extrapolate why that's bad for education! And for life! Fuck opting out of that.

Finally, technology is becoming significantly more pervasive and embedded, and the legislative world is lagging behind. As far as I know no societies have actually ever openly debated about this - there is very little in the way of popular or political discussions about the effects of technology. This is a disastrous thing considering that the people who are making money off of technology are people who don't care about us. Opting out isn't enough when facing that.

I can only know and control myself.

What's an utter waste of time and money for me (owning a cell phone, keeping/checking a Facebook account, etc.) can be used by others judiciously . . . or poorly.  You appear to be leaning towards implementing controls and regulation to remove the choice from many.  That requires a balancing of net societal good vs. net societal gain.  I'm not sure that there's clear evidence of the necessity of this measure at the current time.  You should share your concerns with your friends, colleagues, and family members that you're worried about, but in the end it should be their choice how to live.

The case of technology in public schools is a seperate issue.  I agree with you that this is an area of concern, and we need to be vigilant to ensure that actions being taken to educate our future generations are made based on the best available data.  In this case, yes . . . Opting out of technology is insufficient, it's important to engage in discussion and challenge actions if you're privy to conflicting data.

[maizefolk]

Finally, technology is becoming significantly more pervasive and embedded, and the legislative world is lagging behind. As far as I know no societies have actually ever openly debated about this - there is very little in the way of popular or political discussions about the effects of technology. This is a disastrous thing considering that the people who are making money off of technology are people who don't care about us. Opting out isn't enough when facing that.

For my fellow semi-luddites ....

The very word "Luddite" existed because of a societal debate about the benefits and tradeoffs of adopting new (at the time) technology.

Stepping farther back in time both China and Japan have gone through historical phases where their societies decided not to adopt new technological progress because they valued societal stability over progress with the potential for disruption.

There are also threads on this very forum tracking a lot of discussions in the popular press about the particular impacts of the current next technological step forward (pervasive automation replacing many current jobs.) The people I work with are thinking and worrying about the effects of automation (both robotics for manual work and machine learning for work already done on computer by humans) all the time. And it's not even our field. But I swear it comes up in random other conversations almost every day.

[GuitarStv]

Stepping farther back in time both China and Japan have gone through historical phases where their societies decided not to adopt new technological progress because they valued societal stability over progress with the potential for disruption.

It's important to note that this societal stability came at great cost to the quality of life for average people (but was great for the ruling class) in both societies.

[LonerMatt]

Finally, technology is becoming significantly more pervasive and embedded, and the legislative world is lagging behind. As far as I know no societies have actually ever openly debated about this - there is very little in the way of popular or political discussions about the effects of technology. This is a disastrous thing considering that the people who are making money off of technology are people who don't care about us. Opting out isn't enough when facing that.

For my fellow semi-luddites ....

The very word "Luddite" existed because of a societal debate about the benefits and tradeoffs of adopting new (at the time) technology.

Stepping farther back in time both China and Japan have gone through historical phases where their societies decided not to adopt new technological progress because they valued societal stability over progress with the potential for disruption.

There are also threads on this very forum tracking a lot of discussions in the popular press about the particular impacts of the current next technological step forward (pervasive automation replacing many current jobs.) The people I work with are thinking and worrying about the effects of automation (both robotics for manual work and machine learning for work already done on computer by humans) all the time. And it's not even our field. But I swear it comes up in random other conversations almost every day.

I think it's good that more people are talking about this - especially automation and the 'disruption' (destruction) of a lot of industries.

That being said it seems to me that most conversations are lagging behind changes, rather than alongside it. I'd also posit that at a governmental level little, if anything, is receiving much debate. To me this is really where things need to be addressed.

Sure there are historical precedents of people shutting themselves off, or shutting out technology, and they are interesting, yet one thing that is different about today is the rate of change - many new technologies are invented, sold, implemented before we (the general we) have a grasp of them, their implications and our opinions of that.

Another example - constant use of social media in teens is leading to record high rates of anxiety (this is my opinion, by the way, no idea if social media is THE cause, or one of many) - technologies that are legal, pervasive, and that even our conversation of lags ~10 years behind their pervasive existence.

Obviously what exists exists, and we can't change that much, but there are a lot of things we can do:
- Help other people learn about the downsides of the technology
- Examine and be critical of the current dominant technolgies
- Pressure politicians to respond and also to put in place legislation to limit the powers of large, powerful, rich companies who don't care about us
- Start changing society so that having a job isn't the main means for people to be a productive and valuable member of society, nor would one need a job to live a simple and satisfying life

[palebluedot]

People would rather experience pain than boredom.

A sad idea making me think that our children will think time alone without distraction is boredom, not a cherished moment to be used for peaceful reflection or for creativity.

This is true, not just for children, but for all humanity. Time alone without distraction is ESSENTIAL for good mental health. Engaging in such  apparently "idle" behavior often solicits the inquiry from other observers as to "what is wrong with you?"

Daily meditation has been extremely helpful to be aware and okay of idleness. I think it is an essential skill to learn during these times of technological distractions.

[Linea_Norway]

People would rather experience pain than boredom.

A sad idea making me think that our children will think time alone without distraction is boredom, not a cherished moment to be used for peaceful reflection or for creativity.

This is true, not just for children, but for all humanity. Time alone without distraction is ESSENTIAL for good mental health. Engaging in such  apparently "idle" behavior often solicits the inquiry from other observers as to "what is wrong with you?"

Daily meditation has been extremely helpful to be aware and okay of idleness. I think it is an essential skill to learn during these times of technological distractions.

 I notice that I find it more and more difficult to do something with full attention without distractions. Like cooking. I try to focus on what I'm making and the sequence to do it it. And not overdoing the steak. And my DH who is reading facebook is coming over every now and then to show me something interesting he red. It is nice he wants to share, but I get so superdistracted from cooking, or from anything else I am concentrating on. This is causing me a lot of stress.

[facepalm]

As long as it is time for a general bitch session about communications tech, doesn't anyone pine for the good old days of telex nets with good, solid teletype consoles?

Then, you knew that you were dealing with solid peeps when they had a published cable: address. 

None of this fly-by- night webmail crap.  For free.  Karl Marx would be proud.

I miss my DEC VAX. (well, not mine exactly. . .)

[o2bfree]

People would rather experience pain than boredom.

A sad idea making me think that our children will think time alone without distraction is boredom, not a cherished moment to be used for peaceful reflection or for creativity.

This is true, not just for children, but for all humanity. Time alone without distraction is ESSENTIAL for good mental health. Engaging in such  apparently "idle" behavior often solicits the inquiry from other observers as to "what is wrong with you?"

Daily meditation has been extremely helpful to be aware and okay of idleness. I think it is an essential skill to learn during these times of technological distractions.

Along this line, I see the attraction to the constant stream of information as a reflection of our instinctive desire to expand our consciousness. Humans have a desire to know all, to be all, to see themselves reflected in everything and everything reflected in themselves. At this point in human evolution, we're like children using toys to try to experience that larger state of mind. Through our technology we get a simplified and therefore incomplete version of "knowing all" in the form of endless bits of flashy, colorful, exciting information that grabs our attention and gives us a sense that there's a much larger picture. But the larger picture we ultimately desire is not found in flashy facts, no matter how abundant or useful they may be. Perhaps technology as it's used to study the nature of consciousness will help point us in the right direction, though of course it can't get us there --we have to do that ourselves.

[obstinate]

What strangers choose to do with their time is not a thing you should worry about. If your own friends do not talk to you because their heads are buried in the screen, then that's something you should address directly.

[stoaX]

People would rather experience pain than boredom.

A sad idea making me think that our children will think time alone without distraction is boredom, not a cherished moment to be used for peaceful reflection or for creativity.

This is true, not just for children, but for all humanity. Time alone without distraction is ESSENTIAL for good mental health. Engaging in such  apparently "idle" behavior often solicits the inquiry from other observers as to "what is wrong with you?"

Daily meditation has been extremely helpful to be aware and okay of idleness. I think it is an essential skill to learn during these times of technological distractions.

Last year, for my personal health goal at work, I committed to 5 minutes of meditation per day, at least 4 times per week.  It was a lot harder than I thought it would be but it was beneficial.  And I am continuing the practice even though it is no longer a "goal" at work. 

[big_slacker]

Daily meditation has been extremely helpful to be aware and okay of idleness. I think it is an essential skill to learn during these times of technological distractions.


Last year, for my personal health goal at work, I committed to 5 minutes of meditation per day, at least 4 times per week.  It was a lot harder than I thought it would be but it was beneficial.  And I am continuing the practice even though it is no longer a "goal" at work.

I learned to and developed a consistent meditation practice (10-20 minutes a day) using the headspace app. F'in technology. :D

FWIW I now do my meditation without the app and don't like someone talking to me while I'm doing it. But it was KEY to understanding what meditation was for and it getting me on the path to being consistent.

[Peony]

I've been wondering when 12-step programs for internet and tech addiction would become common. Based on what I see in my own family and among friends young and old, there is a need. Self-regulation can be extremely difficult, especially if one has addictive tendencies or attention-deficit problems. I see what looks and feels to me like a technology addiction causing significant problems for some people I know; I'm in that group at times myself. I do miss the days when tech wasn't ubiquitous.