Today I heard two disturbing things. First yet another electronic payment system for a store chain has been hacked and second there is a new robot in the works. The first is disturbing because it shows just how vulnerable our electronic information is. The second because this robot is being called the family robot. It can take family pictures, help you have Skype conversations when there are too many people to fit in the screen by moving the camera to the speaker, order take-out, interact with your children like a nanny, record voice messages, turn on lights and electronics when you ask it to and it has the capacity to learn and adapt as well.
Why do I find this disturbing? Well we already rely heavily on technology. You can't purchase anything at the store or even get gas if the power is out. That means there is no manual way to do these things and if the power is out long term then we can't even purchase what we need. No one carries cash anymore. They swipe their visa debit cards leaving them vulnerable to hackers such as from Target last Christmas and more recently at Home Depot. Our children are taught to research using the computer instead of using books from the library. We are seeing more and more publications only published electronically.
Our school district has started a program where instead of sending notices home they want to do all communication through text messages and email. A couple of years ago they started this bring your own device to school allowance. Then they proceeded to plan lessons around the use of these devices even though not all students were bringing devices. In fact many classes are asking for thumb drives on their supply list because students are being required to do their assignments electronically.
How many times have you had to wait while a computer processed something during a transaction when it would have happened quite a bit faster if the information was done manually. Computers where meant to make things easier, but how often have computer programs taken a simple process and made it 10 times more difficult( kind of like new math).
Kids no longer talk face to face with other people or go outside to play, they are too busy texting, using social media or playing video games. I sat in a room with my niece and her husband and they were having a conversation using their computers instead of talking to each other and they were in the same room together.
My kids think they are so deprived because we didn't buy them smart phones or even get them their own cellphone. We will be changing that this winter because one is already driving and the other will soon follow, but we will only get them basic phones that will text no data. My kids were limited to how much time they could spend on the computer and we didn't always get the latest video game systems. I made my kids write out their papers in a rough draft before they typed it out for their teacher. We wouldn't let them use calculators for basic math at home even if they used them at school. They learned how to go to the library to physically do research. Our family is an exception. When I was working in the Real Estate field 20 years ago we had computer programs where we entered the information and the computer filled out the legal documents for us, but my boss insisted that I learn how to do it manually first. This was a good thing. When the power went out we could still do our jobs.
Technology can be a good thing but when do we cross the line of too much technology? Could we have possibly already crossed that line as we lose touch with face to face relationships. There was a picture circulated on facebook labeled the real zombie apocalypse and it was a picture of a group of teens walking together all focused on their phones. I got my 1st cell phone 7 years ago. I have it instead of a home phone. I keep it with me at all times not so I am tied to it but so that if my car breaks down or if there is an emergency with my daughters I have it with me. I do not have a smart phone or a touch screen. In fact when I go looking for a basic phone with just a text keyboard I have a very difficult time finding one.
It has been proposed that October 4th be an annual disconnect day where you do not use electronic devices for communication. I think this is a good thing. I hope that there are a lot of people who will participate.
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