Plenty has been written over the past several decades about whether technology makes our lives easier. Technologists, psychologists, professors, philosophers, writers and others have ruminated on the advantages and disadvantages of technological devices, systems and platforms that purportedly improve our ability to communicate, to perform daily tasks, and to improve the outcomes of everything from medical treatments to corporate profits.
Some say technology in general introduces more stress into people’s lives, as technology advancements accelerate at a greater and greater rate of speed and users attempt to keep up with learning about them. SDM’s Contributing Writer Helen Heneveld recently wrote, “The speed of acceptance of technology has escalated at a staggering rate. Just think about it: electricity adoption took more than 150 years; audio reproduction took 76 years from development to everyday use; working with computers by the masses took 33 years; embracing digital audio took 19 years; remote access to data over the internet became widespread in just 11 years; and pervasive social media happened in only five years.” How quickly might technology be both developed and accepted in the future?