What one invention would you uninvent if you could, and why?
I have often asked my friends, "What do you think it would be like living in a world without technology, specifically smartphones?" None of them have answered this question coherently. I think this is the case because my generation has grown up in an era of unprecedented modernization, so none of my peers can imagine a world without unlimited access to information at our fingertips.
If I could uninvent anything, it would be the smartphone. The original intention was to foster connections between people, but this has had the opposite effect. I think that the modern cell phone has actually made people even more disconnected from one another.
I find it unsettling that many people prefer texting rather than speaking on the phone, or communicating face-to-face. Instead of focusing on the person in your presence, many of us are more interested in checking our emails or messaging others who are not present.
It is not only teenagers who are guilty of preoccupation with cellphones. It is not unusual to see adults having dinner at a nice restaurant, and instead of conversing with each other, they are each busy with their own phones.
It might be nice to travel back in time to the 1800s. The world was not lit up by
electricity, the phone had not yet been invented and people had to communicate by written letters. Although modern technology has improved our lives in countless ways, I think it would be nice to live in a world without it.
I have often asked my friends, "What do you think it would be like living in a world without technology, specifically smartphones?" None of them have answered this question coherently. I think this is the case because my generation has grown up in an era of unprecedented modernization, so none of my peers can imagine a world without unlimited access to information at our fingertips.
If I could uninvent anything, it would be the smartphone. The original intention was to foster connections between people, but this has had the opposite effect. I think that the modern cell phone has actually made people even more disconnected from one another.
I find it unsettling that many people prefer texting rather than speaking on the phone, or communicating face-to-face. Instead of focusing on the person in your presence, many of us are more interested in checking our emails or messaging others who are not present.
It is not only teenagers who are guilty of preoccupation with cellphones. It is not unusual to see adults having dinner at a nice restaurant, and instead of conversing with each other, they are each busy with their own phones.
It might be nice to travel back in time to the 1800s. The world was not lit up by
electricity, the phone had not yet been invented and people had to communicate by written letters. Although modern technology has improved our lives in countless ways, I think it would be nice to live in a world without it.
