Our dependence on technology may not be the best thing for us

Imagine if you’re stranded in an unknown location with no smartphone, how many phone numbers would you remember to make that urgent call? How would you navigate back home without an online map? How many times have you looked around in a train or bus to find almost every head digging deep into a device with ears plugged? Technology is making us dumb, or that’s the least we could say. And, this could be up for a debate, considering the pros and cons that come with advancements in tech. We’ve seen reports claiming how technology is making us forgetful, sleep derived, pushing us into a virtual world, less connected in reality and so on. However, what is alarming is how swiftly we are moving from dumb to dangerous. Now, this is serious as the grave consequences of our over-indulgence costs lives . A couple of years ago, no one would have thought that mere taking photos would be accountable for a number of deaths in the country. India topped the list of selfie-related deaths in 2015. While everyone one wants to get that best shot, triggered by the boasting off on social sites, a little common sense and love for life could always come to the rescue. We’ve been watching out for accident-prone locations while on road, and soon we would have to watch out for selfie danger zone boards put up at popular tourist destinations. Besides, there have been several other incidents. And, how did we become so stupid enough to risk our lives for a snapshot? And, dumb enough that a sign board has to instruct us about taking a photo. [caption id=“attachment_242946” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”] Representational image[/caption] In fact, the selfie craze also has the wildlife conservationists worried . It was just last year that a councillor was hurled to death by a tusker who charged him as he attempted to click photographs of a herd of elephants at Manikpara in Bengal’s West Midnapore district. The new Live broadcast era has ushered real-time access to events. But, have we become so insensitive to not give even a thought before broadcasting or watching a death. In June, a Chicago man was shot and killed while filming himself on Facebook Live. The video was watched almost 5,50,000 times within 2 days. And, there are numerous  other incidents. For instance, a man claimed to have accidentally live streamed his son’s birth. There have been accidental deaths while live streaming. And, unfortunately, that’s the memory left for their loved ones. It wasn’t too long that a San Francisco Bay Area man had asked Google Maps to remove a satellite image that showed the body of his 14-year-old son, who was shot. Are we not sensitive anymore? Sometimes, it is also the immense trust we place on a piece of software that could let us down. For instance, a 53-year-old woman was killed while descending a 3,000-feet mountain after her husband used a smartphone app to navigate instead of a paper map which apparently showed the wrong path. And, can we blame them for using online maps? No, it could have been anyone of us out there. It’s the trust we put on these apps, maps, services and so on that promises us best services. We have started relying on apps and services for our health-related issues. And, that speaks volumes about the trust we put into these apps. Advancement in technology is making devices smarter, but is it making us dumber?