Technology, love it. Hate it.

For as long as I can remember, my life has had a computer in it. Many of my life achievements couldn’t have been possible without them – No hours spent writing music, programming, breaking and fixing things, or creating websites.

I am grateful for the part of me that has invested my time in honing my computer related abilities, and indeed as I look to the future I see that many of my technical skills place me way ahead of the curve in some areas…but alas, in many respects, I have grown to loath modern technology.

Old Man Syndrome

As I get older, I find that I am placing a greater emphasis on what I do with my time – What I have concluded is that the simple things in life are more important – family, friends, relationships, good health…I have also come to a realisation that its quite difficult to maintain a simple life whilst suffering from information overload or locked in a room operating a desktop computer.

That said, shedding the technological corpses that cling to me like a bad smell has turned out to be really quite difficult. The problem is that new gizmos entice you in to believing that the simple life includes them, and to make matters worse the marketers do their best to have you buy a new one on a yearly basis. For me, these factors render new technology both a a blessing and a curse…

Technological Simplification

My first step into technological simplification was when I bought an Asus Eeepc. This laptop opened my eyes in the sense that I no longer had to be locked in my room in order to use the internet. I immediately moved my online time to bars and cafes. I distinctly remember the interest in my 7″ netbook from the people propped up at the bar, and was amazed to see these folk actually envious. Envious of a geek like me because I have a little computer?! Logically it makes no sense.

Computer games had been a near 20 year long addiction for me, but as the Eeepc was too underpowered to handle anything but chess, I soon found myself giving up gaming and with it my once highly percieved value of my Desktop machine swiftly faded.

My next major purchase was two years later – a G1 mobile phone. This little device has changed my life, but with it came some real problems. The first month that I bought it, I was like a crack addict! My partner quickly grew to detest ‘that stupid little white thing’ as she called it.

For those that don’t know what a G1 is – its a geeks wet dream. There isn’t much this thing can’t do. I have moved the majority of my work flow to this little device and even this article I am writing write now on its little screen via an ancient Unix program called Vi.

The G1 is in many respects, a curse in desguise. Whereas before I had to be in a specific location to give in to my internet addiction, now it is in the palm of my hand on tap at any time I crave it.

“I hate it because I love it so much!”

I feel like a slave to it’s bleeps and notifications, every new sound the ultimate potential distraction. Its like our handheld devices are modern day psirens. If the panned piper fable was written in modern times, the children wouldn’t be wasting there time with a man with a flute, when their own Iphone does the same thing is a multitude of different sounds! – There’s an app for that!!

One night, I found myself watching a BBC television programme called upgrade me (Of course, I was watching this programme on my G1). The presenter in this programme addressed the changes in technology that have come in the last half century and our dependance that has developled along with it. By the end of the programme I found myself looking at my phone and feeling rather disgusted for having bought it.

The more I thought about it, the more I realised that in my perfect life, technology is barely a footnote. And yet when I look around, I see a growing addiction and dependance that frightens me – It used to just be geeks like myself who spent their time tweaking electrical devices, but now even grandma’s are doing it.

It appears that the path that we are on is for some leading not to technological enhancement, but instead to an unhealthy dependence. To me, we are no longer looking at technology from a rational perspective.

Is this really the way that we want to go?

When I go on holiday, I make a point of leaving behind any technological devices bar a pen and notepad. I feel fortunate that I can ‘drop out’ in this way and reconnect with what’s important in my life. This ‘disconnecting’ is incredibly important in today’s lifestyle to prevent burnout, though I wonder how this will be possible in the future, when the internet will literally be embedded in your skull? Too much of something is most definately detrimental to our health…

My love of technology has led me down many a path, much of it good, but the the deeper into the cave I go, the more I wish lived without most of it.