Published on 12, July, 2020
I was talking to a young woman at work this week (she already thought I was odd because I don't have a freezer, so you can imagine the reaction when I told her I don't have a TV or a mobile phone). We were talking about conspiracies.
"What if," I said, "the government, or even just your employer, said to you that they wanted you to wear one of those electronic devices, so that they always knew where you were and what you were most likely up to? But, if you chose to - and for a small reduction in salary, or increase in taxation - you could opt out of wearing it? What would you do?"
"I'd opt out, of course. It's a gross invasion of privacy."
Yes. Good point. But...
"What if I told you that you were holding such a device in your hand right now?"
She looked at her phone. She does that a lot. She was actually looking at it whilst I was talking to her, but she's NT, so she's able to divide her attention like that.
"Not only can it tell people precisely where you are," I went on, "but it can tell them all the details of your personal contacts, your private messages, your internet usage history, the people you call and text, your banking and credit card details, your shopping habits, where you live, what you own, your hobbies, the places you like to go, what you like to eat and drink, how many pets you have, what your boyfriend's doing, and who he's seeing and contacting. They can get access to all your photographs. All your selfies. The list goes on. And not only do you accept it willingly, but you're also happy to pay for the privilege."
She looked at me in a way that confirmed for me what she thought. That finally, I'd completely lost the plot.
"But that would never happen," she said. "There are data protection and privacy laws against things like that."
"And who makes those laws? The very people who might want access to that information."
"But why would they want to do that?"
I couldn't believe I was being asked that question. It doesn't take a lot of figuring out, with the crazy state the world is in now. I tried mentioning the US government's record on surveillance, and how laws regarding warrants are now getting more... erm... flexible? That's a polite way to put it.
"And what about people who don't care about those laws, anyway? People who can side-step them? Hackers? Terrorists? Other criminals?"
"Well..." she went on, "I still have a choice, don't I. And I choose to have a phone."
Really?
Choice?
They're definitely starting to win once people are convinced that addiction and enslavement are 'choices'. That's how it all works.
Am I the only one who thinks this way? Am I the only one who thinks this whole thing has deeply insidious and dangerous implications for us all? Don't get me wrong. The internet has opened up the world for me and enabled me to connect with people I'd never otherwise have known about. It's enabled me to showcase my design work and garner an audience. But I don't need it there all the time. I'll use it in the morning before work, then in the evening for creative work and entertainment. Apart from that, I can leave it alone. It stops at my front door. I don't need to keep constantly checking my 'likes' or texts. In fact, I don't want to. I'm lucky, I guess, because I belong to a generation (fogeys?) that didn't grow up with mobile phones, so their use wasn't conditioned into me. The phone is not, and never has been, and never will be, a dominant part of my life.
These poor sods, though. And they just can't see what it's done. The drastic way it's changed society. For a good many people, it's effectively decommissioned one of their hands - because it's always there in hand: in the car, in the supermarket, on the beach, constantly being checked and updated. I went for a cycle ride in the beautiful sunshine this morning, and I hardly saw a single person who wasn't either using a device or holding one. A woman stopped jogging to check her phone. I passed her again later, after I'd covered about five miles, and she was only about half a mile further on from where I'd first seen her - stopped again to check her phone. The people at work have them on their desks all day, and look at them at every available opportunity. These devices have got us hooked and addicted and obsessed. Young people are suffering without even realising it. They can't afford to miss anything - and by so doing, they miss so much else. Phone-related accidents are increasing. 'Nomophobia' is now a clinically-recognised condition: extreme anxiety caused by the loss of the phone, or going out and forgetting it. Kids are suffering mental illnesses - both through using their phones, and then through not using them.
Yet people still think I'm strange, deranged, possibly clinically insane for harbouring thoughts about where this might all be heading, and the dire implications for all of us.
Lambs to the slaughter. That's what I think, anyway.
But then, I'm crazy.
I don't have a freezer. Or a TV.
Or a phone.
Interesting thoughts Dogsbody. I agree with much of what you say.
I think the answer is not so much "the problem with technology" but how we use that technology to our best advantage.
For instance I would struggle to live without my fridge and freezer. Those free up my time to do more things than just shopping.
I don't own a smart phone but I do have an ancient mobile phone which I carry to receive calls and messages when I choose to switch it on. I am also reassured I can call for assistance in an emergency if I have an accident (when out walking my dog in remote areas for instance). I never leave it switched on unless I want to use it or believe there may be a missed call or message.
So my response would be yes think about how you use modern technology rather than just ignoring it completely. Life can be improved with clever use of a smart phone and some loss of privacy might ensue but there should be a balance to suit each individual lifestyle.
Children should be given simple phones for use in emergencies until they reach an age when they are able to make their own choices and also educated to be safe when giving out personal information. My computer deletes all cookies when I switch off as an example. Ok that slows down my access next time I log onto a website but it means less of my data can be accessed unless I allow that.
Education is the key to correct use of modern technology in my opinion.
I agree with you, up to a point. You can't uninvent the wheel. This technology isn't going away - unless someone takes out all the satellites and networks! And yes, it has advantages, and can bring life-improvements. But as it becomes more and more ingrained - it's already a central hub for communication, entertainment (films and music), personal data storage - that balance will become more and more skewed. For so many people now, it's not so much about choice anymore as about necessity. I'm the only person at work without one. Even people close to my own age (60) use them a lot. The 'noughtie' generation onwards - they're obsessed. They can't imagine their lives without them. So, in future, it won't be a 'choice' anymore for children.
Education is the key to so many things, yes. Morality, rationality, tolerance, peace. But I somehow think this thing will take more than just education. We can all know the rights and wrongs of something - which doesn't stop us from doing the wrongs. We drink too much. We eat too much. We smoke too much. We drive too fast. Sometimes, we cheat. We make those choices. With this technology, though, our choices are getting narrower and narrower. How many children of, say, 14 are going to make the choice to give up their phone? What are the ramifications of that for them? Social exclusion, for one thing. A sense of 'disconnection'. Easier to go with the flow, surely?
Many of us here understand the mechanism of addiction. If you find something that relieves your anxiety, even if it's damaging, it's easy to get hooked on it. Who wants to feel anxious all the time? So, you get sucked in more and more...
I completely understand the mechanism of addiction Dogsbody. I teeter on the edge of alcoholism for sure. I certainly admit I have a moderate dependency on it. I am 68 bye the way and was brought up in an age where everyone smoked and drank alcohol (sometimes to excess) but my motto has always been "everything in moderation" I never stopped eating butter, I drink alcohol, I used to smoke tobacco (Vaping stopped that)
The secret is to have a balanced approach to everything which can help improve the quality of life I think without allowing any one item to dominate and take over ones rational thinking. I guess smart phones have to be added to the long list of things which have the potential to do that.
Right there with you on the alcohol issue. I've used it (more like abused it) for a number of years, mainly to deal with anxiety. I can go for a long time without it, but I can't say it makes me feel any better. So I generally end up coming back to it. I don't drink anywhere near so much now, and usually at the end of the day. But it would still be regarded as 'excessive' by medical professionals. I've never smoked cigarettes, but I go through phases with a pipe. I find it very relaxing. For some reason, though, it doesn't become addictive.
Yes, balance is everything. I think, though, that the balance is already out for a lot of people where mobiles are concerned. It comes to something when you see a group of friends in a pub together - but they're each in their separate worlds. I suppose the thing of physical proximity combined with social distance is something that we NDs have always understood. In some senses, the advent of mobile technology has taken that to a different stage, so that even people who know each other can be socially distanced when they're together. I think that the more reliant we become on these things, the harder it will be to break away from them. 'Nomophobia' is, as I said, already recognised as a psychiatric condition. As with alcohol, too - the irony is that the one thing that can relieve the anxiety is the one thing that also makes it worse.