Smacked in the Face with Technology

I called the local Papa John’s the other day and was greeted with “Hello, Mr. Hope. Would you like your usual?” before I said a single word. I thought, How interesting. They not only recognized me likely based on caller ID, but they’re tracking my ordering patterns. I asked about this once I got to Papa John’s to pick up the pizza and sure enough they’ve integrated their call-in system with some massive database of customers that instantly pops up information about your ordering history. It’s interesting how some new technological gadgets or applications have the tendency to scare the unsuspecting passerby. And this is coming from me, a software engineer who invents or otherwise MacGyvers new software developments on a regular basis.

I have a good friend who once said, “Technology doesn’t make life better. It just shifts our focus so we don’t have to think about our problems.” Of course, he told me this on this cell phone as he was driving his car through our highway system to his job in a hospital. I wouldn’t say he isn’t right. There are plenty of people who retreat on the regular basis into nature simply to get away from all of the distractions and to look inward. But it’s hard to ignore how easy certain things are because of these inventions. Traveling. Getting in touch with people. Surviving illnesses. Eating a variety of food. Sharing thoughts and ideas (like the blog you’re reading). You can take a negative stance toward technology, but you certainly can’t discard it. At least, not without sacrificing the benefits you get from it.

Imagine your life, or society for that matter, without technological advances. I’m pretty sure this planet would be filled with a bunch of hunter and gatherers, living in caves, and fighting for survival. On the other hand, there are number of things that would undoubtedly be the same. Falling in love. Talking and spending time with friends. Playing with your kids. But the problem is without all of gizmos making our lives easier, we’d certainly have a lot less time for these non-technological, purely human activities. Could it be, then, that technology may allow us humans to spend more time being human?

Feel free to pick a side. But as I mentioned, technology is hard to ignore no matter how you feel about it.