I won’t lie. The ability to access information at any time is great! Who doesn’t love the new baby announcement, a peek into the latest family graduation, or a chance to connect with old school mates, if only to bestow a birthday wish or a word of encouragement. Let’s not forget the endless gardening tips, cooking recipes, and varied artistic expressions and hairstyles to try. Technology can be a fun and useful tool, but it has a dual personality–one of which is not so positive at all, especially for our kids.

Flash back to The Industrial Revolution and the birth of automation. A pivotal time in the story of mankind. For some it removed burdensome tasks, for others it increased productivity. A lot of history in between but overall a helpful concept, responsible for most of the conveniences we have today—washing machines, dishwashers, blenders, toasters, ovens, railroad lines, buildings, cars, TVs...the list goes on and on. In short, mass production solved most of mankind’s pain points and made life much easier for many. Easier yes, but it also kicked off the ravaging of our planet.

Pollution. The toxic price for this boon and for a while, with no guard rails or regulatory agencies in place, it spun out of control. Disposable items became a way of life, lead-laced smog filled the air, and Lake Erie bubbled from years of chemical waste. The 70’s ushered in ardent, earth-conscious campaigns urging the public to ‘Give a Hoot’, giving rise to Smokey the Bear, and the Crying Indian, all designed to enlighten and reignite a sense of responsibility to the planet. Society answered the call with more fuel efficient gasoline for cars and regulations on factories which helped a great deal. Things were looking up and for the most part, there was no reason to question any item brought into the home. There were no appliances watching, listening or trying to be a friend. Just a washing machine washing clothes. No one got hurt.

“Using technology as a tool is infact a great resource and can be very helpful, but as a ‘friend’ or baby sitter I would not leave my child alone with it. In a phrase, it’s got issues.”

Fast forward to our time. It is logical that technology’s place would fall into the want category for mankind, seeing as there were no more mountains to climb in the need category. Unlike it’s industrial predecessor, there are no positive solutions or fixes for the harm technology can generate. So far, many of our new technological ‘conveniences’ seem to decrease healthy brain activity, create a less positively engaged society, and foster unlimited access to everything and anything, 24/7, by anyone. That last point doesn’t sound entirely all bad as I often make inquiries at odd times of the day for...whatever. That is the fun and useful tool part. The flip side, technology caters to a new paradigm of indulgence drenched in unbridled, blind consumption with a side of malevolence toward children. That part makes technology unfun and extremely unhelpful. Yes, there have been safe guards put in place but ultimately, someones parent won’t be as diligent about blocking access to unsavory content from their child. Once children see or hear anything, it cannot be retracted or erased from memory. It’s stored and becomes part of their learned behavior.

Our incessant desire for convenience has sunk it’s teeth deep into society. Easier living convinced us to relinquish control—a thought process that insidiously wills itself into every aspect of our lives. Now more than ever it is important to make and keep connections alive by spending time together. Using technology as a tool is in fact a great resource and can be very helpful, but as a ‘friend’ or baby sitter, I would not leave my child alone with it. In a phrase, it’s got issues. The irony: Industry brought us locks for our doors to keep us safe. Technology was designed for full access to not only information but now your home and your children.

If you think about it, mankind had already made everything we really needed and solved most legitimate problems to improve our lives years ago. In large measure, I’m starting to think we could have stopped there and enjoyed better lives. Socially it appears we are actually catching on. Still have a ways to go in the love-each-other category, but we’re working on it.

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