What is your relationship with technology like?
The smartphone has fundamentally turned our world upside down. For those of us old enough to remember what life was like before even the cellular phone became mainstream it is a fascinating change to have been a part of. With new apps constantly being developed and capable of doing different things it sometimes seems hard to keep up. It begs the question,"How we are managing our relationship with technology?"
If you spend enough time walking around the streets of New York City it seems more people have mastered the art of walking with their heads cocked down at a 45 degree angle than walking upright. Depending on what corner you are on it seems like 3 out of every 10 drivers are looking at their phones while driving. Charging stations have popped up in random locations throughout the city particularly in transit hubs. I commute daily via the the NJ Transit buses at the Port Authority Terminal and yesterday I witnessed something at a charging hub that was both fascinating and disturbing. Two people were arguing over a charging port. Maybe it wasn't the actual outlet they were arguing about as most of us are stressed and tired when we commute home and can easily project that when exposed to the slightest trigger. At the same charging hub someone was having a conversation, while charging their phone, telling the person they were talking to that they will have to take a later bus because their phone needs a few minutes of charging.
People joke around about how they feel incomplete if they leave the house without their smart phone, but is that a joke? It seems some have turned the corner and are now slaves to their gadgets. Few people are bigger fans and advocates of technology and the direction it is going than myself. I am excited about the new boundaries and frontiers we are going to be exploring in the near future but I also am of the mindset that technology is here to serve us and not the other way around. A recent study shows that the average adult spends almost 4 hours a day on their phone. Approximately 3 hours a day in apps and 50 minutes a day browsing the web. An average of two and half hours are spent on the major social media apps alone. I'm sure a significant portion of this time is while we commute and are 'working' but this repeated behavior is how it can become an unconscious habit.
The time is fast approaching where the age of artificial intelligence and robotics will once again bring us into a new technological frontier. There are those that are concerned that these advances will make people too addicted to technology but I can't help but wonder if we have already crossed over that boundary and will need A.I. and robotics for that very reason. And that is what is scary.
If you spend enough time walking around the streets of New York City it seems more people have mastered the art of walking with their heads cocked down at a 45 degree angle than walking upright. Depending on what corner you are on it seems like 3 out of every 10 drivers are looking at their phones while driving. Charging stations have popped up in random locations throughout the city particularly in transit hubs. I commute daily via the the NJ Transit buses at the Port Authority Terminal and yesterday I witnessed something at a charging hub that was both fascinating and disturbing. Two people were arguing over a charging port. Maybe it wasn't the actual outlet they were arguing about as most of us are stressed and tired when we commute home and can easily project that when exposed to the slightest trigger. At the same charging hub someone was having a conversation, while charging their phone, telling the person they were talking to that they will have to take a later bus because their phone needs a few minutes of charging.
People joke around about how they feel incomplete if they leave the house without their smart phone, but is that a joke? It seems some have turned the corner and are now slaves to their gadgets. Few people are bigger fans and advocates of technology and the direction it is going than myself. I am excited about the new boundaries and frontiers we are going to be exploring in the near future but I also am of the mindset that technology is here to serve us and not the other way around. A recent study shows that the average adult spends almost 4 hours a day on their phone. Approximately 3 hours a day in apps and 50 minutes a day browsing the web. An average of two and half hours are spent on the major social media apps alone. I'm sure a significant portion of this time is while we commute and are 'working' but this repeated behavior is how it can become an unconscious habit.
The time is fast approaching where the age of artificial intelligence and robotics will once again bring us into a new technological frontier. There are those that are concerned that these advances will make people too addicted to technology but I can't help but wonder if we have already crossed over that boundary and will need A.I. and robotics for that very reason. And that is what is scary.
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