The 'sweet-sour taste' of our increasing use of technology

Today’s global economy is reshaped by machines that can collect and analyse prodigious amounts of data in real time, telephones and communication devices linked through satellites, and robots capable of precision, strength, and durability far beyond human capacity. Technological advancement has taken a swipe and each generation thinks the following generation will be more sophisticated. No one remembers typewriters and other ‘abacus’ type machines that existed just decades ago. As this column previously cited, the internet is a part of today’s culture that many people cannot even imagine what the world was like before the Internet existed. It is fun, informative and a great one-stop source of communication and all other sorts of vital information. A good example is being in Rwanda and you are able to call, chat or text anyone and everywhere in the world, all courtesy of internet. It has also provided ready educational tools and our students can now learn about almost anything. The burden of perusing through volumes of books in search of information has now been reduced to just ‘a click of a mouse.’ This information-through-the-Internet is easy, cheap and fast. As a result, technology has taken away the long research processes in our universities, and has given us sites like Google, and other amazing databases that give us the answers to billions of questions in seconds. Geographical and time isolation have virtually been eliminated across the globe. Students from around the world can also have access to education instantly at their own convenience, thus eliminating the rigidity of the traditional brick-and-mortar education model. Furthermore, many colleges now offer Massive Open Online Courses which has improved general global access to education. The trend has enabled the working class to comfortably upscale their education without necessarily attending physical classes, thanks to virtual mode of study offered by our universities. Similarly, modern technology has also changed the role of the teacher. Traditionally, the teacher has been the focal point in a class; now that role has become more indirect thrusting the teacher to the position of a coach, mentor who observes the process of learning activities around the student. The teacher merely facilitates the learning process aided by various technological learning materials. In the labour market, manual work is growing extinct, replaced by machines that work faster, error-free, and never get tired or bored. Assembly lines of hourly workers have been reconstituted into connected robotic work stations. Telephone operators are disembodied voices programmed to efficiently direct calls or solve problems without human intervention. The voices are programmed to inform us when one is out of reach or on another call and so on and so forth. Organisations have eliminated mid-management levels, as computers give executives greater spans of control, while the duties of secretaries, clerks, and bookkeepers have been redefined so that single employees can do the work of two or three workers. Despite this magnificent effect of technology, and the enormous advantages in every facet of human activity, there are definitely social, economic challenges and disparity in its benefits. Our knowledge of the computer has now exceeded our wisdom, and therefore, individual hardships and progress are two sides of the same coin. Advancements throughout every aspect of life like cell phones, portable Internet availability, laptop computers, iPods, and many other devices, are of course having some side effects attached to them. They seem to possess unending possible detriments and having impacts on daily users. For instance, concentration on these gadgets has become highly addictive, and like all addictions, have negative consequences. Those who are constantly engaged in using technologies become so addicted to the extent that they spend less and less time with their loved ones. This might lead us to a more isolated generation, overly dependent on technology rather than fellow human beings. It is no wonder that one of the most brilliant brains of the 20th Century is said to have expressed his fear when he said thus: “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction”. The day that Albert Einstein feared may have, unfortunately, arrived! No wonder these days no meeting ends without having a few WhatsApp notifications disrupting the meeting once or twice. It is also not strange to see people scramble for where to charge their phones as the meeting progress, in other extreme circumstances others taking ‘selfies’ in the process. Back at home, there are no longer experiences of noisy teenagers while at home from school. Parents and their children alike are all scrolling on their touch screen gadgets. The much required interaction has been lost and this, to some extent, has led to decline in some fundamental values. Many a time you find secrets reserved for family consumption get their way to the social media. This shows how the ‘family bond’ is slowly getting eroded by the gadgets which have now made us trust the outside world so much. In conclusion, as Alvin Toffler, an American writer and futurist, in his works discussing the digital revolution, communication revolution and technological singularity quoted, ‘Our technological powers increase, but the side effects and potential hazards also escalate.’ oscar_kimanuka@yahoo.co.uk

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The 'sweet-sour taste' of our increasing use of technology