Technology and stuff

And nerds, classmates and human stupidity. Do you expect something else from me?



In my English class, the teacher always talks about "big" topics related to humanity, future, human nature, technology and so on. Which is of course fun, I really enjoy and the class and now I'm even writing an article here, so that's another plus. Recently we talked about the use of technology.

I wonder who are the people who always stare at their phones when in the bus, because to me it seems like a lot of people in the class think that technology is making us less empathetic, emotional and more detached to others.
Which is today's topic if you haven't realized. It was about time, right?

First question is: how would you know? I have no idea how life looked ten years ago, how can I compare it to 30,100 or 2000 years? How the heaven can I know if people were more caring, more involved and simply just "nicer" as my classmates seem to think. The teacher is the person, who could compare at least a little bit better than us and she agrees with the rest of the class, but she never really disagrees on any major point, except when we say something unclear or just "wrong". She always encourages opinions and discussion without really saying what she thinks about non-general idea. So my question is: is it really different? Are we really less emotional than before?  In what way?  And why should that be? Also, how do we know that people weren't always like that and now it's just more obvious? Disregarding the fact that I don't really see how this could be obvious for people in their twenties


Relevant picture and a quote from Socrates several hundred years ago:

“The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise.”

 Maybe we're not that different from the people in the past as we think. Maybe we're not different at all.

Second, it is not about the technology. It's about the people who use it. This is an obvious statement, but it is true nevertheless. I think that most people would agree or at least know about this, but they rarely see the implications.
People use things the way it suits them. And you can disagree and think it's not use anymore, but abuse, yet it changes nothing. We use technology whenever and however we want, so logically it is us and not the technology's fault. Doesn't it make more sense to say that we actually want to be this way, we want to be detached, have only casual friends and be less empathetic. Probably not, right?
But if we don't then why do we use the technology? Maybe because we don't see the consequences? Because we don't care about them? Or maybe it's simply because smartphones make us feel better?
If you think they're dumbing us and making us cold then don't use them. No one is forcing you. Also, there are plenty of people who agree with you, so find them and talk to them. Or you can use the technology to be the person you want. You can surely become more empathetic or find true friends on the internet. And you can easily use the technology to support your cause.
Simply said, stop complaining and trying to force others to your own view. I mean, come on, don't be like me!

The teacher suggested that the people who create technology are asocial (she used the term Asperger's syndrome) or at least less social and more "autistic" than the rest of the population. Sure, that would make sense. Can't confirm it, but let's say it's true.She then implied that because the inventors and engineers are more asocial, the technology they create is representing the way they see the world.  Which means that they're forcing their view to all of us, and we accept it. At first, it seems to make sense but come one. I will repeat that it's up to you how you use all the available gadgets and inventions.
Second, I will point out that even if there is a higher percentage of autistic people working in IT and/or engineering, it would still be a minority.
Third, I don't understand how would it work. They make ipads, so we can't connect to people? How can you do that? How should technology look to make us more connected? Is that even possible?
How do you expect to make a tablet that will transfer the whole human experience? You can't, but you can get as close as possible with technology using calls, video chat or text messaging. It's not everything, but I'd say it's still better than using letters and waiting days or weeks for them to arrive. I simply don't understand how can this be done. How can less social view of the geeks (which is debatable) be put into technology that will then transform our own view.
I'm not saying it's not true necessarily. I just don't understand and, therefore, can't accept it.

Last point we discussed in the class, and while the people agreed, I think they couldn't see the implications and the connection to their own life, not to mention its implementation. We agreed that we simply can't take control over our lives. We're creatures of habit, easily addicted with little will, intelligence and awareness to know fully what we're doing. We can't always pay full attention to what we're doing, think about the consequence and then decide if we really want to continue. Therefore, we can hardly do something about it. We know some of those things and we know our actions lead to worse outcomes, but because we're not capable of changing it and taking the responsibility for your lives we're forced to blame others. This is the whole point really. People are angry (for debatable reasons and definitely not the important thing to be angry about), and they want change. But it's hard to change yourself and changing the world is way out of reach, so we just give up. And it's so easy to blame the technology created by the nerds in Sillicon Valley. Who are strange and antisocial anyway, right? It's those weirdos who force us to live the way they want us to. But we don't want to, right?
Well, if you don't want to, then why do you live this way?
Fear? Conformity?  Lack of will or awareness? Or should I just say it's current* human nature?



*current because human nature is a term that has changed enormously over the history. Even now there are people living in a way we can't even imagine.