People are always talking about how much we rely on modern technology and I have to agree. It’s a scary thought, and it’s worrying that most people have no idea what to do without it. A couple weeks ago I turned on our air conditioner for the first time this season and nothing happened. My husband went out to investigate and found a mouse had chewed through one of the wires.

 

 

Turns out our air conditioner was so old it was almost as expensive to purchase a new one as to fix the old one, so we went with a new unit. Unfortunately it didn’t come in until this week, which left us to suffer through some pretty brutal days.

 

I was so used to being able to get cool whenever I wanted I could hardly wait for the new unit to be installed, and although I’ve never thought of myself as someone who relies too much on technology I realized I’m just as bad as everyone else.

 

One would think I wouldn’t have a problem waiting because our house didn’t have air conditioning when we first moved in, and I fought my husband against getting one for a number of years. 

 

But one year it was hot and humid for days with no end in sight, so I finally gave in. Probably fearing I would change my mind, my husband had one installed the next day.

 

I’m not what marketers would call an “early adaptor.” I fought against my kids getting a video game console until the Wii came out. I fought against getting satellite TV, but eventually the trees around our house grew too tall for the antennae to compete with and we signed up. I didn’t get Internet or a computer until my kids needed them for school.

 

I especially didn’t want to get a cell phone, but after one too many car breakdowns along the side of the road I gave in. When smart phones came out I fought against getting one of those, I hardly used my “dumb” phone; I didn’t want to pay more every month for an upgrade. 

 

Eventually my old phone quit working and I had no choice but to get a smart phone. I’m embarrassed to say I’m on it a lot now, for calls, texting, directions, taking photos and finding things on Google. 

 

But I’m not attached to it like the majority of people seem to be. When I’m stuck at a stoplight I watch the other cars to see how many are on the phone or appear to be texting. It’s nearly always close to half.

 

My husband and I went out to eat last weekend, and when we walked up to the restaurant’s door I noticed a number of people standing outside waiting. Every single one of them was looking at their phones, including a group standing in a circle. 

 

It was sad. There were no conversations going on at all. Instead, everyone was entertaining themselves on their phones while they waited. 

 

If electricity and the Internet went away, how many would survive? I’m guessing most people wouldn’t have a clue. If cell phones disappeared, how many people would know what to do with themselves?

 

Many of today’s young people don’t know how to interact face-to-face. They don’t know how to figure things out without the Internet. They don’t know how to entertain themselves or how to wait for something. They expect immediate fulfillment. 

 

I can be just as guilty. I wait impatiently for a page on the Internet to load instead of being amazed at how wonderful it is. If I forget to bring my cell phone with me I worry about missing calls.  When the power goes out I’m unhappy because I can’t wash clothes, take a shower or keep the food in the refrigerator cold.

 

I’m not against technology; I’m just against the way society has come to rely on it so heavily. People need to learn how to be more self-reliant. They need to learn to put technology away once and awhile and just enjoy life. It’s not the end of the world if you don’t answer a text immediately, don’t watch a TV show, or have to look up a number in the phone book. 

 

Technology benefits us in so many ways, but it’s often taken too far. I challenge everyone to take a day without watching TV or using a cell phone.

 

You never know what you may discover.