The Perils of Technology
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
The cell phone wasn’t developed to spy on its users. But eventually nefarious characters, once they understood the capabilities of cell phones, noticed what a good spying and tracking device it was.
It’s the same with the WWW and Internet. Good intentions at the start, now corrupted into near uselessness.
I’m beginning to distrust every new technology. Especially those who watch and listen constantly. Amazon Echo, Google Hub, and soon a similar offering from Apple.
Am I becoming a luddite? Maybe.
I was there near the beginning. I started using computers in 1976. I’ve been a nerd for 50 years. I was sold on the potential for good at the start. I have more electronic gadgets that one man should own. But these days I find myself warning people about the dangers of the Internet and home devices far more often than introducing them to the benefits they can bring.
Everything requires a caveat. Sure, the Echo is a useful device but you have to be aware of what it can do and learn how to disable or at least control its most invasive features. The same with phones, smart watches, computers in general.
What was a wonderful and delightful experience in the 80s and 90s has become dangerous and threatening.
Yet we will plunge on. We can’t help ourselves. We’ve become enchanted, even addicted, to the effects technology has had on our lives. Something as simple as an e-reader is a revolution in reading. We can now track our health on a watch and upload that information to our doctor. At the same time, often without our knowledge or consent, others are collecting data from our devices in order to sell us a particular product, to show us advertising, know where we are, or glean other information they have no right to.
This currently isn’t a fixable problem. Goverments are too uneducated and slow to stay ahead of the detrimental aspects of technology. We’re too spoiled to give up our convenient gadgets.
There may be a solution someday. But I don’t see one today.
