Technology. Where would we be without it?

Technology. Where would we be without it?

No, I didn’t accidentally write that sentence twice. It’s written to mean two different points of view.

Go back and read it again. I’ll wait.

Can you see the difference?

On one hand, technology has drastically changed the way we do practically everything. The world is pretty much at our fingertips. Life has become so much easier — perhaps too easy.

We no longer have to try to read a map or stop and ask directions at a gas station, even though some of us may insist we never get lost. Technology gives us an electronic voice that can pinpoint exactly how many traffic lights we still have to through before we have to make that next turn to get to our destination. Someone out there knows where we are at all times. That doesn’t sit too well with me.

Does anyone remember how we, as a society, not me personally, had to milk the cows and tend to the chickens on the farm for our food? Then later on in life, we waited for the milkman or egg man to show up on our doorstep. Then came the days when it was our responsibility to go to the grocery store and pick up the milk and eggs ourselves.

But today, technology affords us the option of placing our order online. We can have someone else do the grocery shopping for us, telling them to simply leave the bags by the front door.

Want to order dinner or a midnight snack but don’t feel like getting off of the couch? Today, an autonomous robot will bring us our meal, as long as you live in a city which offers that service.

All of those cold cases no one could ever solve — no matter how many detectives were working the case? Enter technology and the advanced science that can identify one by their DNA. Heck, even if the criminal can’t be found in any centralized database, chances are they can be located through a family member based off of genealogical family trees people are posting online through ancestry websites.

How we have advanced.

Remember when records were the big thing? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? (OK, if you didn’t see the 80’s movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” you missed that reference, But I digress.)

We then replaced records with 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs and listening to SiriusXM radio.

Today, technology offers us a variety of apps where we can listen to any song ever released by simply typing in whatever we are in the mood to listen to.

No more skipping albums. No more fast-forwarding through cassette tapes hoping we land somewhere close to the song we want to hear. No more worrying about a scratched CD screwing up the only song we actually liked and the reason we bought the CD in the first place.

Technology has brought us AI assistants to help us with life’s simplest tasks.

From turning the lights off and on, to adding tiramisu to our shopping list, we live in a world where we can ask a computer to do things for us. We got lazy.

Why do people ask their virtual assistant to flip the light switch for us? When did flexing your index finger become such a strenuous job? When did we get over-exerted using a pen to write a word on a piece of paper?

We got lazy. We got fixated on trying to live a more luxurious lifestyle that most of us can’t afford, trying to keep up with the Jones’s. Still.

I read that before the year 2000, less than 7 percent of the world had access to the internet.

Today, only 25 years later, more than half of the world has internet access. That is how quickly technology is advancing and how dependent upon it we have become.

And cell phones? In 2000 there were 740 million cell phone subscriptions. Do you know how many there are today? More than 8 billion.

Eight billion. That’s more phones than there are people. How is that even possible?

I despise my cell phone provider. It’s a quarter of my monthly income. They overcharge and do not care if I’ve been with them for more than 27 years.

They will still shut me off if I don’t make my monthly payment on time. Forget asking them for an extension.

You know, something used to be said for dedication. Unfortunately, nobody cares about commitment anymore. Everyone just wants their money. And they want it now.

But cell phones have become a way of life. We can’t live without them.

If we lose our phone, we panic. If we forget to bring our phone with us when we leave the house, we immediately turn around and go back to get it.

Our phone is like an extension of ourselves, a third arm, so-to-speak.

Sure, they can be a huge convenience, a Godsend for parents who worry about their child’s safety and want to send a quick text just to make sure everything is alright.

That five second text message and immediate response (if you’re lucky) probably lasts a total of one minute, tops. And then the parent can go about their day knowing their son or daughter is OK.

Oh, technology.

Remember when all parents could do was cross their fingers, say a prayer and tell their son or daughter to be home whenever the street lights came on?

And better yet, parents can now track where their child is at all times through their phone.

Our phones also come in handy for keeping in constant communication with everyone in our life — family, friends and co-workers.

They are our everything, our multi-tool. They are our camera, a music player, calculator, our bank through the use of mobile banking. Yes, technology even offers us the option of not waiting in an extremely long line at the bank and allows us the opportunity to cash our check with just the click of the phone’s camera. Boom. Check cashed and deposited.

We got lazy.

Our phones serve as our social media communicator, flashlight, alarm clock, notepad and phone book. They are our computer through the use of internet access, our messenger and yes, they can even be a telephone at times.

It’s a huge leap from the days when you had to wait in line to use the home phone — especially if you had siblings.

Do you recall the party lines where everywhere knew your business? How about the days where the phone cord was so long you could lasso a bull with it? The experience of hearing a busy signal if the person you were calling was speaking to somebody else? Having to dial each digit on a rotary phone — which could take quite a while if there was a nine or zero in number.

Phones became an easier way of life for us, another huge convenience.

But they can also be a huge inconvenience.

Just ask anyone … if you can find anybody who will actually talk to you face-to face … eye-to-eye. We do not interact with others anymore.

We would rather send someone a text than call them on the phone and hear their voice.

We cannot walk down the street without noticing that everybody is watching their phone instead of watching their surroundings, watching their life.

Society is too focused on living in a fairytale world to be bothered by reality.

We pretend. Every photo we post on social media is an edited, enhanced version of ourselves — like having plastic surgery or Botox without incurring the actual cost.

Every picture is of a smiling couple or happy family with never a mention of the negative aspects lying behind closed doors.

Technology allows us to hide behind our screens. People are constantly bullying others. Typing horrible lies they would never actually say to someone if they were in their presence.

Oftentimes, that kind of torment will lead to anxiety. It will cause the person who is being ridiculed and made fun of depression. And in too many situations, it can result in suicides. Even one is way too many.

How is that acceptable? How is that not a crime? How is that not punishable in a court of law?

Teenagers especially intimidate online, making cruel and hateful comments just to appear “cool” and “popular” in front of their peers.

But how can hurting someone enough that they no longer want to live be something for which you are proud?

And we allow this to continue. We permit this to go on, saying it’s just the way the world is now-a-days.

Well, somewhere along the line, we got it wrong.

Society stopped caring.

Somewhere along the way, we began worrying about things that shouldn’t matter that much. We lost our focus, and that has a lot to do with technology.

I, personally, would rather listen to a record skipping. I like the sound.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have an uninterrupted conversation with someone that lasted for more than a minute and not have to hear that chime or ding or song go off from their pocket or purse and turn their attention away from you? Again?

Not everything about technology is a positive. Nor is it all a negative.

But there seriously needs to be some kind of balance.

Technology. Where would we be without it?

(Stenger is the community editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times. She can be contacted at jstenger@heraldstaronline.com)