Does Modern Technology Make Life More Convenient (Essay Example)

Every aspect of our life is dictated by technology. We use our phones as alarms we wake up to, check our social media as soon as we open our eyes in the morning, we stare into our screens as we walk down the street. Technology has made our lives easier. Entertainment is more readily available and friends and family are reachable twenty-four hours a day. Technology has created a fast-paced convenient society where everybody is connected at all times, not missing out, always included somehow. 

Some downsides of technology permeating our lives are the fact that we spend every moment focusing on something that does not belong to us; we watch videos of strangers online, we read their tweets and posts, we are always seeking entertainment, thrill, shock as if we are constantly driven by a dopamine addiction. We have unlearnt how to be alone with our thoughts, how to focus on one thing at a time, and how to be patient. 

Our world leaders feed into the narrative of digital transformation, to make our lives easier, simpler, and devoid of hassles. New technology is patented almost daily, new TVs, phones, and computers are released every day, each bringing us closer to a more technological future. As our screens get larger our attention span diminishes, as the width of our devices shrinks so does our perception.

In the last few years, we have seen technology take over our lives at a scarily fast pace, especially during the pandemic. Contact tracing, QR-codes, and vaccine passports, all for our sake and convenience. Governments are well known throughout history to have taken advantage of crises to implement a more authoritarian grasp on their population. What is claimed to be an instrument to help the public and collective health could become at any time an authoritarian tool used against the population; as Yuval Noah Harari says, we need to pay attention to how our data is used, for what purpose, and how it is being stored.

Nowadays, it’s noticeable how some of our human values such as compassion, empathy, and sympathy, to cite a few, have left the place to fear, cold logic, most often manipulated by so-called trusted sources, and black or white views. This behavior is evident in the “cancel culture” so popular in our present times. We either behave how the majority wants us to, or we are canceled, shunned from online communities, or sometimes even society as a whole.

Famous billionaires like Elon Musk are constantly working on developing new technology aimed at human use, not merely wearable devices, but nanotechnology that can be inserted into our bodies. For example, Musk’s Neuralink brain chip claims it would help paraplegics walk again, help us save memories as photos, and allow for our brains to communicate wirelessly with a computer. It all sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, which might be exciting for some people, but extremely worrying if we think about it deeply enough. 

Cybersecurity is extremely fragile nowadays; we witness cyberattacks and data leaks regularly. If even governmental websites can be hacked, how can we trust a device inserted in our bodies to be secure enough? This might sound farfetched at this time, let’s use vaccine passports as an example; blockchain technology is being used to secure the data in most of the apps used for this purpose which makes cheating the system and hacking into it highly difficult. Nonetheless, our data might not be as secure as we think. 

The data can be accessed by any governmental branch with little to no approval from the user. To cite an example, the “Green pass” and “super Green pass” used in Italy to regulate citizens’ lives and right to work based on their vaccine records, can be easily accessed by the Agenzia Delle Entrate, Italy’s IRS. The government has allowed the IRS through an emergency decree, to access the vaccine records and cross the data with the tax records of all citizens aged fifty and above to fine them if unvaccinated, and ulteriorly ban them from working. This system of data crossing will stay in place, for future tax evasion checks, the Italian government claims.

Such liberty of using our data for different purposes than what we consciously or unknowingly agreed to is what might transform tools displayed as convenient and for the good of all, into tools of authoritarian control. What today might be used as contact tracing technology because of Covid can set the foundation or a precedent for governments to try and have more information and control over their citizen’s rights. 

It is well known that the European Union and many other areas are working on a Digital ID system for their citizens as part of the 2030 Agenda in regards to digital transformation. The European Commission aims to provide citizens with a digital wallet where all their records can be stored; ranging from their medical records, diplomas, bank information, and contracts. Everything would be easily accessible and ready for use. Its main objective is that of ensuring the right service is delivered to the person who is really entitled to it (Shaping Europe’s Digital Future, 2022). Such a function could be useful and protect our identity, but it could also spiral into a more authoritarian use of it. What and who determines whether we are entitled to a service or not?

In conclusion, we all should be more mindful of what we agree to, to whom we allow access to our data, and for what purpose. Technological advancement can be beneficial but not when only the logical mind prevails. In a society upheld by many different individuals, compassion and equity should be the pillars upholding our progress. Sometimes convenience can be used as a disguise for something inconspicuous, which does not have our best interests in mind.