Technology is not Making Us Lazy

Mario Rivas 

Professor Rowley 

English 1

9 June 2015

Technology is Not Making Us Lazy.
The recent boom in the capabilities of mobile technology has allowed humans to be constantly connected to the world around them. As a computer science major, I am constantly aware of the benefits and advantages of having technology around us all the time. Some people, however, have the misconception that technology has made humans lazy and counterproductive. Technology has in fact made humans more dependent on our machines to do our everyday work, but this leads to humans having more time to accomplish other tasks in our lives. The reality is that this technology has in fact allowed humans to be more competent, efficient, and productive. 

Why is it that the sight of someone always being on their computer device translates to that person being lazy? “Why don’t you read a book like your cousin is?” As a computer nerd I am constantly being hit with comments related to this topic. The funny thing is, is that I actually do most of my reading on my phone. It may not be a book, but I do enjoy reading my set of daily articles everyday about current events or about other subjects that are important to me. I’m not doing anything counterproductive; yes, I may be on Youtube at times, or texting, but a lot of time is actually dedicated to reading articles or doing my homework, which is mostly internet based now. Still, being on a device like this translates to being lazy for a lot of people. 

I believe this misconception originates in the way social media has transformed the way we communicate, and how teenagers tend to abuse it. Yes, social media in my opinion is a good thing because it allows instant communication with other people that are important in our lives, but the fact that teenagers tend to abuse their devices makes technology look bad. It’s the older generation that are the ones that I’ve noticed usually have a comment about technology. My dad has commented more that a few times about how excessive my use of technology is, and most of those moments, I was either reading articles or completing my online math homework. Older adults have to accept that social media apps are not the only source of information a mobile device is capable of generating, and that using technology is not always a way to waste time.

The previous generations, mainly our parents and grandparents, are usually the ones commenting on our excessive use of technology. I feel as though they’re not used to the capabilities that our mobile devices have to offer. The older generation didn’t have the technology readily available that our generation has the luxury of having, and so I feel as though our constant reliability of this technology in their eyes makes us look lazy. We as humans now have the luxury of obtaining any piece of information, video, or answer to any question that the world has to offer us with the use of a smartphone, something that the previous generation didn’t have. But this doesn't make us lazy, it only makes us productive, because rather than wasting our time looking for an answer to a question we may have, we can simply look it up online quickly and easily.

Since Apple’s launch of the iPhone back in 2007, the use of mobile technology has skyrocketed. People are on these devices all the time and we can find all the entertainment we need on them. The smartphone, some would say, has given birth to a new definition of lazy. But does having all the information that the world has to provide right on the palm of your hand really translate to a person being lazy? In my opinion having all this information easily available and accessible has made man more efficient. We no longer have to spend tens of minutes looking for an answer to a specific question we may have, we can now simply “Google it” and the answer to our question will pop up almost instantaneously. For example, a lot of math textbooks are now available online. This online book not only includes the in-text material, but also includes tutorials on how to do certain problems that you may be stuck on with the homework. If a person needs help on how to understand a specific theorem in math, that person can simply youtube it and a video should show up explaining how to use the theorem in a specific problem. All these websites and resources are available on a smartphone and can quickly be brought up when needed. The fact that a person no longer has to spend so much time looking for an answer to something doesn't translate to that person being lazy. Rather, it’s a direct example of how efficient, productive, and convenient these mobile devices allow us to be. 

Whether a user chooses to be productive with this current technology is completely up to the user. Yes, I’ll admit that technology has made some people lazy, however, it’s a choice for one to make. Ever since the time of our existence, man has had the option of being lazy or being productive. Humans can choose to be lazy or not with the technology we use today, but there is no direct link between man being lazy and technology. As an example, we now have the choice of sitting around playing games on our phones all day, or reading articles about current events in that day. The same thing could be said about the past. My dad once told me that he used to like watching a certain cartoon show called He-Man on television in the past. Back then, my dad had the decision of either watching this cartoon show or reading a book for school. The ideas about how lazy we can be haven't changed, only time and our technology has changed. If a person tells someone that technology has made humans lazy, it is derived from that persons own opinion; people themselves choose how they incorporate technology in their lives everyday, wether it’s good or bad.

Without a doubt, technology is going to continue evolving and improving man’s standard of living. It is a misconception that technology is making humans lazy and counterproductive. Whether or not someone chooses to interpret technology as a negative necessity or not is their opinion. Some people may misinterpret us using technology as a more “lazy” way of doing things when in fact its beneficial to have this technology around us all the time. We can see an improvement in efficiency in our every day use of our smartphones and laptops. People now have the ability to record, store, and find any type of information in smaller devices that or more portable than they ever have been before. Because of this, humans are dependent on machines to do our work for us, however, the fact that this technology has allowed us to complete everyday tasks more efficiently and productively trumps the fact that we are dependent on these machines.