Electronic Product Design

I wish our culture could take a fork in the road. I understand this response will seem a bit too general and possibly irrelevant [for the subject presented for discussion], to some or many, in fact.

There is already way too much dependency on technology. Information and communication "devices" have watered down the real communication between humans. Discussions in forums can easily become misconstrued because someone forgets to put the right emoticon to give the text they've written an emotional context. Also, it creates a mentality where it is easy to say to ourselves, "I don't need to remember information anymore, it's only a few keystrokes away." There are some advantages in our technology that seem helpful -- GPS devices are one example. But human nature being what it is, there is a dark side to all of the technology at our disposal these days.

I am glad to be older with fewer years left to live. It is becoming increasingly harder to relate to a culture that takes it for granted that technological advances are always good. When people panic at the thought of losing the ability to text or make a phone call while walking down the street or from the bathroom, they have lost touch with an "inner" life, to my way of thinking. It is hard to appreciate nature while your thumbs and eyes are occupied on a little device you are holding. And even when you are through with your "communication," now as you continue to walk along, you are thinking about what you've just typed and are still missing your "natural" environment. People's lives center around technology to such an extent that it consumes their thinking. As one who has almost always liked "gadgets," (but who is more reflective as I get older), I can't help thinking technology needs to be de-emphasized somehow.

I know... it helped foster a revolution in Egypt. So maybe my view is a bit skewed. But Egyptians have integrated this technological dependency in a different way in their culture. People to people interactions have a stronger tradition in many other countries as opposed to more developed countries, like the U.S. How often do you (U.S. readers) visit with more than 1 or 2 neighbors in your neighborhood and it not be part of some organized meeting? You will see large riots in the streets of other countries over political unrest much more often than you would see here. I truly feel some temperance is needed with technology. I'm just not sure how we go about achieving it.