The statement below was given by William James, a former Google strategist. The question today is that will humans realize anytime soon about how technology has embroiled upon us? Viewing it from a Marxist point of view, can it then be said that soon we will enter a class conscious state similar to Karl Marx’s notion, where we also realize how technology, particularly smartphones, affects every aspect of our life. Moving on, is there any chance of a revolution against the giants of Silicon Valley. Also to not let them have the power to influence our opinions about major world issues and politics?
“The dynamics of the attention economy are structurally set up to undermine the human will.”
(Lewis, 2017)
The answer to this question cannot be definite, but rather opinionated. Humans grow exponentially with time and embrace the notion of progress. Which happens at a faster rate than before as seen through our past. The technological feat accomplished in the past 200 years is far greater than the thousands of years before it. Our smartphones and gadgets are a live example of it. Keeping in mind the ‘Attention Economy’, can we ever distance ourselves from the shackles of these devices? The short answer might be, NO.
Social Media
Smartphones are now an essential part of our everyday life; they have become an integral part of us, a fact that we might not be ready to embrace due to constant denial. Snapchat, a thriving social media application is a literal addiction in many ways. It satisfies our hunger for constant attention and not only this but also the feature of streaks have been devastating. It is devastatingly successful for the makers to increase the use of the application and devastating for the users who are constantly fastened to their phones to not let their streaks break. A few years back, Facebook acted as the most attractive social media site, particularly among the age group of 12-34 years old. (Heeti, 2019).
The point here is that humans move on; they welcome ‘change’ in order to progress from old to new. Today, the key innovation by technology giants is what has kept humans hooked to these smart devices. The dependency that it has created is probably beyond measure. It can be understood through the fact that cellphone addiction has now become a properly developed phenomenon with signs and symptoms throughout the globe.
Smartphone Dependency
Apart from social media applications that keep us addicted to our smartphones. Today, phone calls have become obsolete. Now food orders are taken through specialized applications such as Careem Now or FoodPanda. Every possible conventional gadget now exists in our device in one form or another. From camera, alarm clock, music, books, and games, we have everything in our hands. The dependency it has created is overwhelming, but we should realize that overindulgence with these devices carries various negative effects too. Imagine a group of millennials sitting together and not using their phones and actually talking to each other, seems impossible, right? It also gives away a very negative impression of disinterest whether intentional or unintentional.
Apart from this, when a person changes their academic institution or their employment, the decision to take refuge in our cellphones does not allow us to actually go and talk to other people. Hence, the lack of unfamiliar people and social interaction leads a person to a depressive state. Therefore, another way of how our mental health takes a heavy toll through our phones. Apart from this, the text neck has become common among pedestrians who use phones while walking, colliding with other people, poles, and getting into accidents with cars has become a common sight.
Privacy, an issue that makes people fight with others on a reason as a minute reason as taking someone’s phone without permission. I am not saying that I disagree with privacy. But I believe we tend to have double standards about it when we provide social media applications with our private information and the permission to control or access our data.
Conclusion
In my opinion, limiting one’s self from using mobile phones might be possible. But the withdrawal of phones all over the world from our lives is nearly impossible now because we are now either addicted or prone to these devices. Phones have become essential for people who need help and counseling. Moreover, it’s an arena to learn new skills and languages and allows us to perform better in our daily lives and careers. Lastly, I believe that we now need to embrace technology as something that is integral to humans. In the modern world today, it is a necessity without which we cannot live or survive.
