I love technology. That's a fortunate thing since I am a software engineer! The knowledge that is at my fingertips is astonishing. The fact that I travel with maps of anything and everything I could hope for makes me so happy! I adore audiobooks and having everything I could want to listen to available at all hours of the day. My life is truly richer because of tech.
Technology is an amazing tool we can use. Unless. Unless, technology uses you.
Does your eye twitch if you get a notification and you can't check on it? Does your wrist buzz because you should be out walking or so says the tech overlord? Do you jones for a social media hit while you are in a meeting like you are nicking out for a cigarette?
For over 10 years now I have been preaching against social media. Since smart phones hit the market I have been the old geezer thumping the soap box about unhealthy fascinations with tech.
Technology is supposed to improve lives and reduce work.
An average cost of a dishwasher is between $400 to $700. The median household income in Alabama is $51,734. $51,734 % 52 weeks % 40 hours per week = $24.87 an hour. It takes 28 hours or almost 4 days of work to pay for the higher end average dishwasher. You are trading 4 days of life for a tool. Is it worth it?
The only way to determine if it's worth it is to calculate how much time you are saved by using a dishwasher versus that 4 days of life (even longer when you consider the cost of living you will need to subtract for those days of work. Bills still have to get paid. Family still needs to be fed) and then calculate that for the cost of a dishwasher's life span.
That's just the dishwasher. Then there is the car, the washing machine, microwave, the cell phone, the internet....
Are you sure you aren't trading your life for machines?
That's just the actual cost of the things, what about the time cost?
How much of your life is your phone taking? How much of your life are trading being constantly available to advertisers, friends, coworkers....
We are trading our lives for tech. We are the tool that technology uses.
I'm not preaching going off the grid. Mindful consumption! Do you need a tv that is 3 inches bigger than the one you have now? Is it worth 10 days of your life for that 3 inches? I mean if we are talking about a different 3 inches than yeah, but in tv size? 🐠🐠🐠
Be smarter with your consumption! I would not trade a single day of my loved ones lives for any possession. But we do mindlessly every. single. day.
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