Technology in Communication: Who’s Driving This Train?

Photo credit: Hans Train Phonecard Collection

Technology has brought us advances we might never have imagined, providing us with possibilities far beyond the realm of reality just a short time ago.  “However, how much of this power is man actually using to solve the problems of mankind?” (Majeti, 2014, para. 2) – or are we simply relying on myriad tools, technological gadgets and gizmos, to distract us from problems and entertain us instead? Do the never-ending array of state-of-the-art tools provide us with an easier life, or do they chain us to a life of endless communication and connectivity?

Charlie Leadbeater, a writer, social entrepreneur and social innovator, speaks to the ways in which communication technology serves both as a convenience and a constant reminder to stay connected, in this video from the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.   

Most tellingly, Leadbeater notes an experience in which he had taken a walk with his son up a mountainside, where mobile coverage was nonexistent. As he descended later back into mobile range, his phone began to beep, signaling messages that had come in during the signal-free period. He remembers “sitting down looking at my emails on this beautiful mountain” (Banff, 2016), and wondering if he was looking at his emails because he truly wanted to or if it was simply because the phone had reminded him that he had messages and therefore made him feel he needed to. “So we’re constantly in this dilemma about all this technology which is it for us, a tool or something we use for our purposes or are we for it?” (Banff, 2016).

As Leadbeater read his email, on that beautiful day in the mountains, perhaps responding as well to a few, what was his young son up to? Was he sitting there, waiting patiently or finding his own amusement during that time? It can be argued that the technology we use for communication so captures our attention that “we are living in our individual bubbles where each person is more interactive with the person inside the gadget than the person next to her/him” (Majeti, 2014, para. 3).

As we continue our use of technology for communication, perhaps that is the question we must ask ourselves -- are we more involved with the person inside a gadget than those we're able to communicate face-to-face with -- and these as well: 

• Is this technology driving our actions and interactions or is it simply a convenience that allows us to further our communication in positive ways? 
• Are we engaged in the world around us or engulfed in the use of technology in an attempt to capture or understand that world -- and finally, 
• Are we solving problems and enabling efficiencies or simply using technology because we can? 

If we are to be most effective in our use of technology, these are questions to consider at every juncture of our work and personal life.

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References

Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. (2016, January 27). How is technology changing our workplace culture? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=Ukvd4adVcHw

Majeti, D. (2014, December 11). Technology – Do we control it or does it control us? [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://uhethics.wordpress.com/2014/12/11/technology-do-we-control-it-or-does-it-control-us-author-dinesh-majeti/