Are You A Technology Zombie?

The internet may be important to you too, but if it is unavailable for the whole week, surely, anything that is technology related will be useless if there is no electricity.

These past few days, I realized technology is nothing. Some people out there was tormented by the recent typhoon and I am in a situation where I have to get my pen and paper, sit in front of a table with a single candle for a little light because I always prepare my articles everyday for my personal blog.

Yesterday, I decided not to write anything because I know the electricity will be back in no time, but to my disappointment, nothing came alive. On our dining table, my cellular phone sits there blinking with a message “low battery”. Inside my room, on my bed are my notebook, iPad mini and a smart phone. They are all useless. My daily life is always part of the fast technology, inside and outside the house. I know you will never try to stop using technology related things because it will make you go crazy. My daily routine online may be the same as yours. Facebook is widely used by many people, including me; social life is within reach in a few clicks. News online is the best and the easiest way to read the latest news, because instead of buying and spending a few pennies on a newspaper, your personalized Smartphone will surely remind you to read the daily news.

All e-mail providers are capable of storing and receiving your important emails, however, without the high-speed internet you have to say goodbye to them. That is what I did today.

Silly of me, I know the electricity is out, but thinking of a hot drink, my head started telling me that I could get hot water by using electric kettle, which I did. Shame on me, I ended up, rubbing my forehead.

We can easily control technology the way we like it, but do you think technology is also controlling us; I looked out the window this morning and saw children playing outside their homes. Even they are noisy; at least they are not captives of their gadgets. Nevertheless, we are all prisoners of technology.

Technology can control human kind. I can say we are like a zombie who follows every footstep of the a modern technology. I am not saying that technology related things are all capable of controlling us. Not all machines are destroying us. Anyway, to my realization, internet may be destroying something we do not know and so is the technology.

Thanks to modern technology, the internet is there to help us mingle with other people online and to connect with our relatives abroad, but the internet will never ask how are you and it will never talk to you. Because of social networking sites, we miss the real meaning of friendship. It can connect us to the whole world; people can add all the people they see online. They should ask themselves, “How many will come in time of my need?”

Never take your friends and family for granted, talk to them online if they are far away and face to face, if you have time to grab a coffee with them, then do it. A minute with them is a memory that is cherished for a long time.

There are many studies why modern technology is one of the reasons why some people have poor memory these days. Our long-term memory has an unlimited storage while our short-term memory has a limited storage that can only hold seven items for not more than 20 to 30 seconds. When there are things that are stored in our short-term memory and you gradually repeat it, this information will transfer to our long-term memory.

Do not get me wrong, but many people use their Smartphone or reminders online as their personal assistant. These things help us, but if they are not around, I bet you might forget some of your important meetings or you might even forget about your wedding anniversary, unless you have an old school daily planner. You do not have to memorize something to make your memory better, but try not to rely too much on your Smartphone.

Are you a student? I had a classmate before who attends and leaves the class. No bag, notebook, pen or even a paper, but he never missed a class. He uses his Smartphone to take pictures of every lecture in his subjects. A good student will try to do everything to make things easier for him/her to study, yet according to researchers, 75% of students who takes pictures of their lectures with their Smartphone does not even read it.

These students need physical activity too, they prefer sitting in front of their computer all day long using the internet instead of doing some work out. They also develop insomnia and obesity because of inactivity.

• Google Nerd – Do you always use Google to find the right answer? If we compare the way students study today and the students who uses the library many years ago, those students who use the library tend to read more and understands everything they read. Having an internet connection gives you an open access to the biggest library on earth; however, some students today, just read what they need and forget about what they have learned because it is always one click away to find the answer.
• Impatient and Preoccupied – Our lifestyle is fast pace. I am not talking about emergency cases, but regular pace of life. There was a man who called for pizza delivery, but he lost his temper and patience because of waiting. The delivery came after a few minutes, so the person who called for pizza opened the door and knocked the person off. Other people do not want to be preoccupied; they do not want to wait. Look around you, you will see people talking on the phone while walking, playing games on their Smartphone while waiting for the bus to arrive. Even in restaurants, people use their mobile phones or gadgets doing important and non-important things while waiting for their food. We are preoccupied with technology every hour of the day.
• Instant Food– One reason why people die instantly is instant food. It is easier to put hot water in a cup noodles than to prepare a dish. With this kind of preparation, we can make things easier and our health in great danger. If you partially charge your Smartphone, you will not be able to use it for the whole day, so is your body, a full meal is better than a quick meal. Remember, your health is important as much as your work.

Technology is very important. Computers, internet, Smartphone, they are all part of the fast growing technology. These things make our lives easier. Without technology, an email is just a mail that travels for months, nobody will even bother using facebook and maybe you will just sit on your couch waiting for the morning newspaper. However, never be a captive, do not let it control you, perhaps you should control it the way you want it. Never be a zombie.