Technology (mainly computers/Internet) are supposed to be game-changers. They’re supposed to make our lives better. I have believed that for so many decades I can’t recall a time when I believed otherwise.
Until today.
It’s been a busy weekend at the house of Annienygma. While I’ve taken some time to recharge, I’ve also used this time as an opportunity to reorganize a bit and swipe a rag over those areas of my house that don’t get cleaned as frequently as I’d like.
As I danced around and cleaned my home I saw something I’ve not seen for decades: every single piece of tech in my home was put away. All of it. My phone was on charge, all of my computers stored away. I’ve not needed them for months and I hadn’t even thought about it.
I froze and took a long, hard look at my home, at the things I have been using since I canceled my home internet connection and realized that I was seeing, actually seeing my home for the first time in a very long time, and not a single piece of tech was in evidence.
My music is playing on my old CD player; the CD in question is an old favorite. My phone hadn’t been touched all day; I hadn’t even missed it. If I hadn’t decided to post this I wouldn’t have used it at all.
Yet there is a deck of cards upon my desk. I use it to play a variety of Solitaire games these days. Nearby sits a small sketchbook within which I doodle. My typewriter stands sentinel on my desk, in the same spot where my computer used to rest, waiting patiently for me to write a letter or work on the book I’ve been tinkering on for ages.
A pair of jeans sits nearby, waiting for me to finish my extra cleaning before I hem them.
And I am happy.
I think about all of the promises, all of the benefits that computers and the Internet were supposed to provide and I realize that aside from this blog, aside from the occasional email or web search, that the main change it made to my life was the fact that it sucked me in and kept me scrolling.
I’m not sure what to think about that. Part of me wants to be angry. How many hours, how many days have I spent online that I could have spent living my life instead?
I tried to guesstimate the number but stopped because the preliminary numbers made me angry.
We don’t need what we think we need. For me, that means completely rethinking my belief in technology.
I’m really beginning to suspect that we’ve been fooled.
What is your opinion?
11 responses to “Have We Been Misled About the Benefits of Tech?”
Technology and computers are game changers but only to the extent that they remain tools to help enhance our lives. Computers started out as primarily as tools to solve problems and get work done. Just like the internet was communication and making the spread of knowledge easier and more universal vs being dependent upon being able to afford expensive sets of encyclopedias and the bookshelf to hold them every few years. The issue was over time companies seeking profits slowly changed computers from being primarily powerful tools to do things, into mere media consumption devices to generate increasingly heavy cash flows over time while slowly crippling the devices in the process.
The other aspect that is not often thought about is that social media and online communities allow people to interact with others that would have never happened otherwise. This is especially powerful for people with disabilities be they physical or mental that prevent them from getting out to be able to connect with others and especially others in a similar situations. Such as in your case it was the Internet that allowed you to be able to support yourself and make a positive difference in the lives of more people than you probably realize. So overall I feel it is about maintaining healthy boundaries.
In the end it ultimately boils down to what role the technology has in your life. Computers and technology ultimately can be a useful servants/tools to help enhance our lives but also become a terrible master if we allow it to start to control our lives.
Excellent points, John. Perhaps the Internet has, as a friend terms it, “mutated.” Because you are absolutely correct in the fact that at first it was primarily a communications device. Without the Internet, I’m not sure I would have managed to become a stay at home mom.
That said, it’s changed so much since then that I doubt the feat could be easily repeated. Certainly not with a basic blog. TikTok videos perhaps?
Without the net miss Annie would not have found her Canadian Fan Carla 🙂
Annie, so many years ago, I eagerly read your every blog post, and pondered the process of the books you published. You introduced us to Smashwords and other self publishers….. You made it look possible. You opened the virtual doors to us and allowed us to see how you made ends meet and crafted your writings and musings. Every development seemed noteworthy….. the day you started treating your self better and allowing a few luxuries into your lifestyle….The day you realized that your kids were launching into the world, leaving numerous possibilities onto the horizon. Didn’t you even consider living in a van by the ocean? The day you realized that you didn’t need anyone’s approval to live a fulfilling life. We laughed with you and pondered the realities of life in Kentucky. We rejoiced to hear the adventures in your neighborhood of your household and your numerous pets… and how you helped one another in the floods.
To sum it up……Indeed the virtual journey is not the same as snail mail and not the same as a shared highschool graduation, but no less real. You made a difference Annie and I thank you for that. Peace from up here…. Carla.
Thank you, Carla. Your words mean a lot to me.
The Internet used to be such a magical place, a place where we could share our experiences and teach others. But now it seems hijacked by influences that feel detrimental. Haven’t you noticed that even the “minimalist” blogs and social media posts are all filled with advertisements or discuss that “one thing” we “must have” to make life better?
I would rather fade into the sunset than go that route. That’s why I don’t have ads and really don’t share links to items anymore.
To be absolutely honest, I’m surprised I even have readers these days. I’m not exactly mainstream, and I post infrequently so that I don’t run the risk of becoming repetitive. Seriously, there aren’t a lot of different ways to say “use what you already have.”
Maybe I’m just getting curmudgeonly in my dotage 😹.
Yes Annie, you summed that up nicely. But i don’t begrudge folks from trying to make a living… and shilling a plethora of stuff we don’t need. But i have noticed also that somehow God raises something or someone up to carve a safe path way through the jungle🌴
What do you think AI will do to us?
I’m not as concerned about AI as I am the corporations in control of AI. Given their propensities, I’m not sure that this will end well for someone. Depends upon whether or not we hit them hard enough in the wallets, I suspect.
I think a useful exercise (if you have a computer with 4 GB RAM or more) is to try and run some of the local LLMs (such as gemma-3-1b or gpt-oss-20b (which needs 16 GB)). Ollama or llama.cpp are programs to do this with. Talking to them is not exactly like talking to a human, but in many ways they are intelligent.
Then, as a thought exercise, realize that people are running AI on much more powerful computers.
I think if technology stopped developing, we would figure it out. Inventing pottery required figuring out washing the dishes, inventing candles required figuring out how not to burn stuff down in the night, New tech can sometimes solve the problems, but often it creates its own new problems.
I agree. That said, I doubt we’ll stop developing technology, which could be good.
Do you think technology is the issue or the ones in control of the technology?
Both? I think things like semi-intelligent LLMs would be challenging to humans, even if they were say, purely developed by universities. But the profit drive is pushing things like attempts to increase “engagement” that are probably not the best things to optimize hard.