Does Personal Technology Really Simplify Life?

I found a cool post the other day by Dennis McDonald who writes an insightful blog about living with technology.  He wrote a post about whether or not Personal Technology Simplifies Life which I could have written myself!  Having lived though a lot tech changes, he is a "recovering gadget freak".   

Does Personal Technology Really Simplify Life? 

This is a great question.  My love for technology and gadgets is great, but my love of simplicity is greater! People waste a lot of money on technology & gadgets that end up taking more time to set up and maintain than they save.  I also often see technology being used in a way that actually "complectifies" rather than simplifies life. 

For example, some people choose to upgrade their phones once or even twice a year.  Why is this?  Who has time to move all their phone numbers to a new phone and learn to use a new phone every year?  Personally, I have over 100 phone numbers programmed in my cell phone that I've had for about 5 or 6 years.  The thought of reprogramming them every year on top of having to spend time relearning how the phone works is enough to make me stick with my old, but very reliable phone.  It gets a signal even when no one else does!  So what if it doesn't have a color monitor or take pictures.  I have a digital camera for that!  (And that's another thing I don't upgrade every year.  Again - it takes too much time to relearn a new tool.

Anyway here are a couple excerpts from his post along with my comments.

"I suppose many people would say that technology does help them stay organized and prioritized.... In my case, as a former gadget freak, I have resisted the impulse to keep acquiring more gadgets and have actually tried to reduce the number of systems I have to maintain." "... as one adds to the number of  specialized electronic goodies one keeps that system maintenance does become an issue."

This is a great tip.  Always think about maintenance before buying a gadget.  Even ones for the kitchen.  They are the most unused gadgets cluttering homes in the world!

One issue is whether or not one has to synchronize one with another, say, synchronizing a hand-held electronic organizer with a PC based tool. ..."

This is why my Palm Pilot sits in my drawer most of the time!  I hate synchronizing. I don't see the point of adding more things to my list of things to do everyday unless I really have to. So if I'm traveling, and can't or don't want to take my laptop I pull it out and synchronize.  Before buying a PDA, make sure you are ready to keep it synched (which means keeping another cable on your desk too)

"To be honest, I'm probably just as much a gadget freak as I always was, It's just that now my desire for variety is, to a great extent, satisfied by being able to access so many different types of applications and tools through my computers and through the Internet."

Oh my.  I do this too!  I never connected it my gadget habit before but I can see how that could be related.  My husband complains all the time about the amount of software I download and install to "try out".  But now I have the excuse that it keeps me form spending money on gadgets.  Plus it helps me make better recommendations to my clients!  : )

So my answer is No. 

Technology can add a lot to your life, but simplifying is not one of the advantages.  Convenience, being able to do some things faster (like look up info) - yes - but it doesn't simplify. 

Anyone care to argue that technology DOES simplify?   : ) 

Photo courtesy of:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/veraoverdeorg/

Comments

[Jon Tillman]

I took a stab at defending technology over on my blog. Feel free to come over and tell me I'm wrong :)

[Doll]

Reall "neat" blog. Loved this.

[Shirazi]

Techology simplyfies life; no doubt.