Tipperary columnist June Molony says we are slaves to technology

June Molony Column

Have we become slaves to technology? “The difference between technology and slavery is that slaves are fully aware that they are not free”

How many of us can honestly say that we can spend 24 hours without our mobile phones, iPad or laptops? What is the first thing you reach out for when you wake up in the morning? What’s the last thing you drop before falling asleep at night? What do you check in the middle of the night? How many of us go to a party but we’re so focused on our phones we miss it all! There is a quote I heard a while ago: “if you didn’t instagram it, did it really happen?’

We started in charge, now we’re slaves to our own technology. Technology has exceeded our humanity.

Don’t get me wrong, technology has amazing advantages and provides unimaginable opportunities whilst easing lives but the addiction to some modern technology is undeniably harmful. We live in an era where most people determine their own value and standard of their lives.

“Just because we invented a powerful technology doesn’t mean we have to become it’s slaves.”

As much as it’s beneficial and important to plug in, it’s very important to remember to plug out from time to time. The ping ping ping never stops until we stop it. It is important to sit and truly reflect on what’s important, the human relationships being neglected for e-followers, sometimes even a relationship with oneself.

Many grew up with the internet, so they think that the internet is grown up, but it’s not. We’re all slaves to technology. Technology is a dominant part of our daily lives for good and bad, and we have become a slave to want it’s wants. It is demanding, intrusive and in many ways regularly disappointing, yet we can’t live without it. 

Technology can be unforgiving and uncompromising in terms of how much we are controlled by her, but we don’t have to let her treat us this way. We can still have control. If we want to harness the positives and admit that nothing is more important than how we engage in the present, then we can start to focus more on the positive, productive and human centric side of this wonderfully complex thing we’ve grown to love so much.

And with that, I’ll leave you with a quote from one of life’s great philosophers’ Ferris Beuller

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you might miss it.”

June Molony can be contacted on 089-4085390