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Today's technology contributes to convenience and instant gratification for sure. What it does for each of us personally, in terms of intellect, entertainment, and socializing, I feel is debateable.
Who was it that said, "Suppose they gave a war and nobody came?" I'd like to tweak that a little and say "Suppose they made a bunch of products and nobody bought them?" I'd like to believe that will happen someday. But then I just had to google that expression and I have gotten very dependent on google.
I think it wouldn't hurt if people were more selective of the technology they bought instead of masses running out to buy every new thing. I didn't get a cell phone until years after they were really popular, and only to have in the car for emergencies. I still don't have a dryer. I just bought a dishwasher after thinking about it for years, but I'm really, really lazy about washing dishes, so this seems to be a good choice. lol
I don't ever see myself having a smart phone, but who knows. But I did jump on netflix when it first came out because cable and renting movies all the time really adds up.
I really wish computer technology would slow down too. I hate buying stuff that will be completely obsolete in just a few years. What a waste.
I think home-computer technology itself is moving by too quickly. I bought my current computer in 2009, but by today's standards it would be considered an outdated computer (despite the fact that it still works just fine). I certainly don't have the means to be buying a new computer every few years.
Also, there are too many social media sites. New ones spring up all the time. Up until a few years ago, it was just Facebook and Twitter. Now there's Pinterest, Instagram and lots of other similar crap out there. Teenagers may have time for all that, but the rest of us?
(Referring to bolded portion above.)
One of the ways I have been able to get around this issue (i.e., rapid computer hardware obsolescence) is to buy "ahead of the curve" hardware technology. For instance, to buy the highest-end computers with the greatest capacity for future upgradeability and expansion. I personally like to buy computers for an intended 7-year lifecycle, rather than the 2-3 year lifecycle that most consumers are usually given with whatever is being sold on the PC market at any given point in time.
A few examples:
(1) In 2008, I bought an HP xw8600 workstation series computer, which is still running and pretty much still on par with today's hardware standards. It has a 3 GHz Intel Xeon processor, and can take up to 128 GB of RAM (even today's computers tend to take up to a max of 32 GB RAM, so a 128 GB total RAM capacity for 2008 was pretty impressive, IMO). I will probably be able to keep using it for the next several years at least, b/c of the large capacity for RAM expandability, and I could also potentially upgrade the CPU to two 3.4 GHz processors, if I wanted to
(2) For my next-generation computer rig to succeed #1 above, in late 2012, I purchased a custom HP z800 workstation PC. It has 2 (two) 4.4 GHz Intel Xeon x5698 processors running inside it, and it can take up to 192 GB of RAM. Please keep in mind though, the z800 HP workstation model was originally released around 2009-2010, if I am remembering correctly. Also, the 4.4 GHz Xeon chips were originally manufactured by Intel in 2010 and released in 2011, and they still retain Intel's single-fastest CPU base clock speeds today in 2013, and are still currently the fastest (non-overclocked) processors ever manufactured by Intel.
Moral of the story: buy the highest-end, most expandable computer hardware that you can afford (rather than the low-end, soon-to-be-obsolete hardware)
Also in response to the original post: yes, we are definitely being overwhelmed by modern technology! IMO, modern hand-held computers, tablets, the iPhone, the iPad, iPod, smartphones, etc. are turning the young people of today into the human equivalent of the Borg For this reason alone, I refuse to buy a handheld computer or a smartphone...and my existing high-end, blazing-fast desktop workstation computer is still enough for me and my inner-geek to be happy with
I'm a retired teacher who is now substitute teaching at all levels.
During "free choice time" as a reward for completing all the week's work, instead of playing scrabble, monopoly, building with legos, educational games, puzzles, etc. together, the kids want to just play on hand-held electronics. During reading time, they want to read on an electronic kindle or such, rather than a read book. Could all that be good for their eyesight, creativity or social skills?
On the travel forums, I notice that folks don't want to stay inside the national parks without wifi, TV, & cell coverage because the kids (& adults) can't have fun without these.
Who was it that said, "Suppose they gave a war and nobody came?" I'd like to tweak that a little and say "Suppose they made a bunch of products and nobody bought them?" I'd like to believe that will happen someday. But then I just had to google that expression and I have gotten very dependent on google.
Well, PC sales dropped some twenty five percent since the first of the year. The blame is being put largely on Windows 8, which is an everything in one big box sort of system. This was being discussed in the Computers sub forum. One thing besides people just now being willing to be pushed into this 'better' system is I think that we're at a saturation level. For most, the tasks we use a computer for are probably far below its capability. So if the latest toy is of no interest they'll wait. Once you reach the point of saturation where most people have found something which meets their needs and the perception that newer is better begins losing its steam, then the technology blends. Do you buy a new microwave every few years for one that has more buttons? not anymore. When it was new and the best toy it was oft improved. Now its just another cooking method.
Also in response to the original post: yes, we are definitely being overwhelmed by modern technology! IMO, modern hand-held computers, tablets, the iPhone, the iPad, iPod, smartphones, etc. are turning the young people of today into the human equivalent of the Borg For this reason alone, I refuse to buy a handheld computer or a smartphone...and my existing high-end, blazing-fast desktop workstation computer is still enough for me and my inner-geek to be happy with
I use the laptop like a desktop, sitting on a box with an external keyboard. I found one ergonomic one my fingers like and stick to that. But the one use I'd have for a tablet is somethink to load my writing files onto. If I'm reading through fifty pages of text, I'd rather be lounging across my bed than sitting at the computer. Something which would do that would be nice, and run wp, but tablets cost way too much. Hand help word processor?
I'm a retired teacher who is now substitute teaching at all levels.
During "free choice time" as a reward for completing all the week's work, instead of playing scrabble, monopoly, building with legos, educational games, puzzles, etc. together, the kids want to just play on hand-held electronics. During reading time, they want to read on an electronic kindle or such, rather than a read book. Could all that be good for their eyesight, creativity or social skills?
On the travel forums, I notice that folks don't want to stay inside the national parks without wifi, TV, & cell coverage because the kids (& adults) can't have fun without these.
A friend of mine owned a comic shop. He spent half his life on the phone, including when the shop was closed with calls about shipments and orders from those who didn't pick from the store. For his vacation he found a national park with no cell coverage at all and spent a blissful week without having to answer it.
Right now I do feel annoyed since the tower has an outage and I can't pick it up and call someone. Whaaaaa! I wonder what would happen if you said at free time no electronics? Would they be lost?
A person who is active in the real world can take their cell phone and computer and toss them out the window and they would survive. The truth of the matter would be that the person free of technology in the end will surpass all those who are hooked on it. Nothing like eye to eye communication or flesh on flesh contract though a handshake or embrace. Technology offers a path of lest resistance. It is easy to "pretend" that your life is relevant through technology - it is a lazy artificial way of living. In reality technology is an evil illusion.
I have very mixed emotions about this. I love some things about this new world and hate others. I believe much of it improves our lives, yet I fear many aspects.
I agree that kids in a classroom choosing to spend free time on their phones rather than with their fellow students is sad and somewhat frightening, but it's already too late to change that. Spend some time talking to anyone under the age of 25 and you can see that their brains have already been rewired. Their thinking processes are not the same as their parents. Approaching a problem they might come to the same conclusion, but they get there by a different path. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but along the way they're losing the concept of teamwork and the benefits of interacting with other humans, which I see as a great loss they won't even understand.
I despair for the families of the future. As humans make technology their primary interface rather than other people, how are they going to have the skills to make a commitment to a partner, a family, or a community? People will still have a sex drive so they will want to couple and they might maintain a need for human affection. But already those things are more disposable than they ever were in history. It seems like millions of people already prefer animal pets to other humans. Why? Because they provide affection, but they don't talk back. The pet owner holds the power the way kings used to hold power over their subjects. Many people don't want to remain in marriages if their spouse is of another mind on almost any subject.
How can people live and let live, or learn to respect ideas or ways of life not their own, if they have little experience interacting IN PERSON with other humans? They see others with conflicting ideas as faceless foes, not humans who just experience life differently. First, people were more eager to have phone conversations rather than meet because the phone allowed us the privacy of not having our faces, our way of dress, our messy surroundings seen by others. Now Facebook and Tweeting enable people to interact (which today means sending OUT messages) without their voices even being heard for nuance or emotion. And today, people are NOT good enough writers to convey those things via language as many were in days gone by.
A tweet can convey facts, quick humor, a burst of anger, but it reveals nothing of depth or character. Social media provide ways for people to receive only information they know they want or will like. It gives them the ability to block any incoming thoughts they might deem unpleasant, too challenging, or unimportant (even when they may be of great value). It also gives people the ability to construct a persona for themselves that may be far from the truth. We have always tried to convey a face to the world that's more what we WISH we were like than what we really ARE like. But have we ever before had such amazing tools to do it so effectively? Photoshop, anyone?
What I love about technology is how it gives us access to information we never had at our fingertips before. I have the Library of Congress in my house. I have an amazing, up-to-date atlas at my fingertips. This morning I refreshed my memory by reading a Playbill for a Broadway show I saw twenty years ago. I can see the heavens or I can see buildings and highways around the world in real time. I can get a connection to people I could have only hoped to meet in the past. I can be joined together with people who share my most utterly obscure interests or my most passionate beliefs. I can instantaneously send messages of support or financial assistance where I see a deserving need.
So there is PLENTY of good. But there are also countries and corporations out there using this technology for their personal gain with no care of whom they are hurting. My government and nefarious entities have ways to spy on me I have never dreamed of. They have ways to influence opinion that may be quite unfair. People can lie with impunity and make their messages seem very truthful. Those things are scary. Scarier than just worrying about weather or not you can afford the latest and greatest hand-held device.
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IMO, modern hand-held computers, tablets, the iPhone, the iPad, iPod, smartphones, etc. are turning the young people of today into the human equivalent of the Borg 
For this reason alone, I refuse to buy a handheld computer or a smartphone...and my existing high-end, blazing-fast desktop workstation computer is still enough for me and my inner-geek to be happy with 
