kate jack

Made our lives easier?

Made our lives more complex?

Not changed much?

Other?


I'd say made things easier and people lazier.

Wyodiver33

Couldn't someone have asked the same question 500 years ago? 100 years ago? 20 years ago? Don't you think that people 100 years from now will look back at us like we look back at people from the early 1900's? It's just what you are used to and what you can accept as far as change goes. I don't mind your question at all. I just think you are being a little short-sighted, historically speaking. But a person using a first generation, handheld calculator probably thought it was way better than a slide-rule. If human kind is still around a hundred years from now, your quad-core, 4GB RAM, dual GPU computer will be in a museum and people will point and laugh at it. "Mommy, how did they ever play Doom 17 on THAT!?!"

As far as lazy goes: Of course we are lazier. What do you want? A tribal hunt with spears against mastodons? At the time, even a spear was high tech.

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ratbastid

People always think that the period they're living in is unique, and they're almost always wrong.

laconic1

Other than cellphones, the technology changes of the last 20 years really have not changed things that much. Yes the internet is huge and to an extent changed the way some people meet and interact, and shop, but other than that the changes aren't huge. For me, even though I only average about 70 minutes a month overall on my cell phone ( yes I know I need to get a life) it has been a game changer since it eliminates miscommunication and frustration that comes from not being able to get a hold of someone quickly. For example it would have been a godsend for me in high school to have one. There were several times where my sister would tell me in the morning she was going to pick me up from school that afternoon so I didn't have to take the bus. Then 2:30 rolls around and she's not there and I had to wonder was she just on her way and a few minutes late, or is she not coming and I need to take the bus. There were times when I waited for her and the bus left and she never showed up and I had to walk home, and other times where I ended up getting on the bus and she showed up after the bus left and was pissed at me for taking the bus.Cellphones would have eliminated that problem. I'm sure there are other examples but technology for the most part makes my life easier.

ironman

Definitely easier. The fact that some people perceives it is more complicated now is the fact that we get involved in so many things and have so many options to choose from, that at times it overwhelms us.

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Baraka_Guru

Tell that to hospitals, stock exchanges, multinational corporations, research labs, etc.

IBM PS/2 (Circa 1988)
8086 Intel processor (16-bit)--4.77 to 10 MHz (Similar to a Super Nintendo)
72-pin RAM SIMM (256k or 1MB)
640×480 with 16 colors, and 320×200 with 256 colors
3.5" floppy drive (1.44mb disks)
Hard drive (optional due to high cost)
Windows 2.0

It was either this, paper & calculators, or $400,000 mainframes (plus training, plus technicians, plus maintenance....) Even then, a mainframe at that time would be 32-bit and had 2 GB of RAM (Yes, the entire room-sized machine).

Now try going back 30 years. I'm sure most workers would have done everything by hand, typewriter, etc.

Most of the effect of technology in our lives happens behind the scenes. But, on a personal level, I think it has made our lives more complex. It encourages us to do more, since we can be more efficient.

I don't think it has made us lazy, per se, though it might appear so. Just because something is easier to do, it doesn't mean we're being lazy. We are far more productive per capita now than we were 30 years ago. Trust me.

Would you call that lazy?

Or... to be fair.... what would you mean by being lazy?

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biznatch

The other day, me and my friend were getting hammered at his house and needed to put on some music. We both had MP3 players but no way to connect it to his stereo, so we searched through his parent's old tapes from the 60's and found a bunch of awesome compilations of songs, and had a great time.
We both agreed it was nice sometimes to play a tape, and not get up every 10 minutes because you wanted to listen to this particular song.
Nowadays, because of MP3 players, we have music-A.D.D...we always have our entire collection of music (or a significant part of it) at our fingertips, and can skip to any song within seconds.
The last time I had played a tape was maybe 7 to 10 years ago, but that night was a great experience.
Anyway, this doesn't directly answer the question, but I think it does show how technology has changed our behaviors with many aspects of life.
Not necessarily a bad thing, just different.

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MikeSty

There's a lot of truth to this, and I honestly don't understand projections and statements like "Technology will no longer grow, we've reached a limit." That's all bunk. Of course what we have now will be laughable in the future.

However, I think there is something unique to the period we live in. Not 30 years, but whenever the transistor became miniaturized and ubiquitous was a pretty significant step and I really don't think anyone can deny that. Yes, technology grows through time, and in the scope of things, none of it looks that even - but there are a few jumps here and there with significant innovations such as that.

As for technology making lives easier/harder, that's a hard question to address, but I find it is all about the level to which YOU can maintain the technology, and not have it spill over you. Yes, use cell phones to plan events out such as in laconic1's situation - but some people might make multiple phone calls to sort something like that out. Dumb people will just be dumb, and while I'm sure the technology makes their behavior more conducive to a lack of control with technology, I think the majority of people who handle well with advancement find it worth it.

I also think Bakara_guru is spot-on.

newtx

Eliminated the need for encyclopedias. Made a home land line almost not necessary. Overloaded us on ways to lose weight even though we are more overweight than ever. Brought us to a state of dependance on gasoline even though gas prices are climbing faster than our need for the gas istself. At least we have the TFP where we can sort it all out.

girldetective

Of course it has made our lives easier, and bettered people's lives around the globe. Technology is a broad spectrum. Look at medicine alone, the Genome Project if nothing else.

Look at how many people you are reaching just through TFP, you lucky lazy thing.

The Whole World is talking!!

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ngdawg

In many ways it has made life easier, but at the same time has upped the aggravation quotient.
What used to take weeks to generate/finish/answer now takes hours, but we're expected to be just that much MORE efficient. Meanwhile, my desks at work and at home are still laden down with papers.
Instead of using our heads, we use a keyboard. Instead of getting things in an envelope and mailed out, we email and hope the recipient sees it.
We know longer have to trust our kids to tell us where they're going, we just call their cell phones.
I think that in the future, every baby that comes out of the fetal incubator will have a communications implant inserted behind their ears and little keys attached to their fingers....

Poppinjay

I plan to implant a GPS chip in my son's bum after he's born.

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Leto

This is a good sketch of the situation. Even if you just take one ubiquitous computer application, such as Excel (or Lotus 123, or any other spreadsheet app) and compare what we do with it now in a typical day. Just go back to the late '80's never mind 30 years ago, but just try to do then what we do now.

I've created my own project management tools, automated tax forms, vacation budget forms, presentations with pie charts/graphs, record album indices all knds of thing with this tool that would have been pencil & paper 30 years ago.


Does this make us lazy? More like, does it provide us with a tool to do things quicker and more accurately. I can't imagine the speed we have improved and effort that we have replaced with this (not so) simple little tool.

jewels

It's made our lives easier which makes things more complex.

With all things simpler, we're taking on more tasks at work and at home which equals more stress and higher expectations of one another.

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UKking

Depends on the category.

Look at Women's Health, for example. Prior to 30 years ago was the stone ages of that field...

boink

I'd say it's easier for some and harder for others.

easier to get more work done faster allowing for layzyness and screwing around alot.
how many times have you read someone is posting from work ?

now to me, working in a metal shop welding and grinding etc. the idea that I could burn the clock reading message boards (suposedly gettting paid ?) is ludicrus same goes for any construction worker or mechanic...any one who works in a hands on type field.

I'd guess if a guy from the 1800's walked into my shop he'd know exactly wat all the machines do cause they all look pritty much the same. if he was any good in a shop he could sharpen a drill bit just like I do, by hand on a grinder.

I saw a thing on 60 minuets about how we work so many more hrs these days...and they interview a guy who emails clients links while he's still in bed and another guy who takes voice mail in the shower...or has telemeetings via laptop at starbucks...now if ya ask me, that ain't work.

I see archatects come visit the shop who have no clues about the hands on properties of steel or how it looks or it's texture.

it's scarrey to me how little connection they have with the materials in their projects how clumsy their ideas are relitive to the properties of steel, aluminum brass or wood. this disconnect also makes it hard for them to understand why things take the time they do to make them right.

there's no cut and paste, no controll z on a drill press or a saw.

I've also noticed a ton of younger folks think is just fine to take personal calls all the time at work. I know I'd have been fired for that before the cell phone era.

I still don't even have a cell phone though. I'm fine with it.

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