Back to the roots? Why do we feel that we have to escape technology from time to time? Let’s be honest! We all were flirting with going back to a vintage cell phone. Just calling, SMS tops. No eMails, no Facebook, no Twitter. Going on vacation without having access to the internet is more than an attractive option. But why do we feel that way? Is technology taking over and dictating our way of life?
Time is misinterpreted
New media should enrich our lives with something that is scarce. Time. Therefore, we thought technology could serve that very purpose. By now, we have doubled our productivity but have we doubled our salary? No! We might deserve it, but do not get it. Worse. The doubled productivity is taken for granted and required while the technology increased our availability, at any given time. Receiving and answering eMails until late at night is a common practice. In essence, our quality of life has decreased.
Philosophically speaking
When do we reach the point where technology controls us rather than being controlled by us? At the the end of the day, we create the technology. In one way or the other, technology broadens the culture we created and becomes part of that culture. And ironically enough, we are a product of that culture. We are proud to be sitting in the coffee shop and staring at our smartphone or typing in our laptops.
But within that circle described, the human being is the only one having self awareness. Within that circle, we are the only ones having the opportunity to opt out. And as long as we have that opportunity, it is the goal of education to teach self aware and responsible human beings.
Neither the problem, nor the solution
Contrary to what your might think, I am not going to root for dismissing technology after all. Technology is neither the problem, nor the solution. If we fall off a mountain, no-one is going to blame the mountain for it. The same applies to technology. The problem is not technology itself, the problem is our usage of it. The wrong usage leads to an overload which could result in us turning our back on technology. Therefor, the goal of modern education should be to teach a well balanced usage of technology …