Technology always has a tendency to make promises.
The new gadget will help to save time. The app will make your life easier. The smart home device will take care of one more annoying task for you. The new service will help to skip one more step on your way to the desired result.
However, in most cases, these promises are not entirely groundless.
Indeed, technology has managed to simplify many aspects of people’s everyday life.
Nowadays, it is possible to contact a relative who lives thousands miles away effortlessly. One can find an unknown location without using a traditional map. One can order food staying at home and without leaving his/her house. One can transfer money without coming to a bank. And one can learn how to fix something using a video.
Thus, technology really made our lives easier in many cases.
At the same time, there is one interesting question behind all these conveniences:
Has technology actually made everyday life easier, or have we replaced old problems with new ones?
The answer is somewhat more complex than that of supporters or opponents of technology suggest.
Some things became undoubtedly easier
It would be naive to deny that modern technology has simplified the way of our life.
Let us consider an ordinary situation of looking for an unknown location.
Not long ago, it was rather likely that one could get lost and needed a paper map, written directions or a guide who would lead one there.
Nowadays, all one needs to do is to use a navigation application on a smartphone that will calculate the route and recalculate it if the road becomes closed due to the traffic jam.
Thus, it is not merely a convenient solution. It is an entirely new possibility.
The same is true concerning communication.
One can reach out to a family member who lives in another city or even in another country in literally a couple of seconds. It is possible to share photos in literally a couple of seconds. It is possible to have a video call even though it is impossible to come to a relative’s house.
Moreover, there are plenty of other examples.
The process of online banking helps a person to save a trip to the nearest branch. Digital calendar allows managing a complicated schedule. Translation apps can help people with different languages to understand each other. And online shopping can save a lot of time for people who cannot go out because of their disability or distance to big cities.
Thus, technology has helped to remove a tremendous amount of friction from our lives.
Nevertheless, there is one thing that we rarely stop at.
Convenience breeds expectations
The moment something becomes easier, we start expecting it to be easy.
It is one of the less obvious consequences of technology.
Let us consider a situation with ordering things online.
The process can take no more than thirty seconds. The customer finds the necessary product, presses the “Order” button and enters the payment details.
However, after repeating the process a hundred times, the different experience starts to seem inconvenient.
It seems unnecessary to make a phone call.
It seems inconvenient to wait for an email message.
It seems inefficient to drive to the store.
It seems frustrating to wait two days to get something that can be received in one day.
It is not because the process has become more annoying.
It is because the expectations have changed.
Thus, one of the paradoxes of convenience is that the more friction technology removes from some areas of our lives, the more noticeable the friction becomes.
We have added a lot of complexity as well
However, there is another side of the coin.
Usually, technology eliminates one kind of effort and replaces it with another.
For example, a smart TV does not require an additional streaming device anymore.
Nevertheless, now, there are several applications that should be managed, some passwords that should be remembered, some accounts that should be maintained and interfaces that should be learned.
Moreover, a smartphone has replaced a camera, GPS navigator, music player, alarm clock, calculator, and several other objects into one compact unit.
It is impressive.
However, if the phone suddenly stops working, all the functions disappear in one minute.
Moreover, the same logic can be found practically everywhere in the modern house.
There are smart thermostats, smart speakers, smart locks, smart appliances, and connected security systems.
Separately, each of these gadgets can be quite useful.
However, all together they create a whole system that sometimes requires some additional management efforts.
One cannot ignore the irony.
We invented the technology to simplify our lives.
And then we invented an additional technology to manage it.
The hidden cost of convenience
If people discuss if technology saves time, they usually refer to the obvious arithmetic.
How many minutes does this technology save?
However, time is not the only resource in this situation.
There is attention that matters as well.
A certain service can save you ten minutes but require you to pay some attention to it throughout the day.
An application can make shopping quicker but continue sending promotions for several weeks afterwards.
A digital service can help one to communicate but create an expectation that one should be always available.
A productivity app can organize the work but add one more dashboard to check regularly.
It is a trade-off that exists in every case.
The perfect example – the smartphone
Perhaps, the smartphone is the clearest example of the way technology makes our lives easier and more complicated simultaneously.
One has just to imagine the objects that it has replaced.
Maps.
Camera.
MP3 player.
Clock-alarm.
Calculator.
Calendar.
Notebook.
Some payment cards.
Flashlight.
It is clear that it is more convenient to carry one object that does all these things rather than seven or eight different objects.
Nevertheless, the smartphone has created new expectations.
One can now be reached everywhere.
Messages can come at any hour.
Work-related notifications can follow one home.
Social networks can be accessed at any quiet moment.
News are always available.
Entertainment is always ready.
The phone solved many practical problems for us.
However, it created one problem that previous generations did not have in quite such a form:
How do you disconnect from the device that also serves you as a useful everyday tool?
It is a much more difficult task than simply turning off the old television.
Sometimes, faster does not mean better
Generally speaking, people usually measure the progress of technology through speed.
Faster Internet.
Faster processors.
Faster deliveries.
Faster payments.
Faster communications.
Speed is good.
However, there are cases when slow can be much better than fast.
Cooking a meal from scratch takes longer than ordering one.
Writing a letter takes longer than sending a message.
Going somewhere on foot takes longer than going somewhere by car.
Reviewing the photo album takes longer than scrolling through thousands of photos.
Nevertheless, some of the slow actions have some qualities that speed does not offer.
They create space.
They can be more memorable.
They require deeper attention.
Thus, technology is very good at eliminating waiting time.
However, not all moments of waiting are wasted time.
Sometimes, they are the part of the experience.
The problem of infinite convenience
There is a point where convenience can become excessive.
For example, let us consider entertainment.
Television used to require waiting till a particular program is being aired.
Streamings removed this requirement.
Then autoplay removed the need to choose the next episode.
Recommendations removed the need to search.
Finally, short-form videos removed the necessity of committing to a long program.
Thus, each step made entertainment more convenient.
Nevertheless, the more convenient entertainment is, the more difficult it becomes to decide where to draw the line.
The same situation exists with shopping.
It is easier to find the product.
It is easier to compare the prices.
It is easier to buy it.
It is easier to return it.
However, the removal of friction makes it easier to make unnecessary purchases.
Thus, the technology does not force people to consume more.
It merely makes the consumption very convenient.
It is an important distinction.
Not every complexity is unnecessary
Not every inconvenience needs to be eliminated.
It is one of the most useful approaches to technology.
We should not strive to remove all difficult or slow actions from our lives.
Sometimes, it is good to leave some inconvenience.
It is difficult to learn something new.
Cooking is sometimes inconvenient.
Exercising is uncomfortable.
Keeping relationships with others requires effort.
Reading books is concentrated.
Building something manually takes hours.
Thus, none of these activities is improved by technology making them faster.
The right question, therefore, is:
Which friction is useful, and which is unnecessary?
Technology is extremely good at eliminating unnecessary friction.
It is its greatest strength.
The problem is in assuming that all the friction is unnecessary.
Technology gives us more freedom
There is another more optimistic approach to all this mess.
Technology does not need to simplify everything in order to make our lives better.
Sometimes, it provides us with the freedom.
Working remotely gives a chance not to go to the office.
Online education allows one to have access to the information that is not locally available.
Communication via Internet allows people separated by borders to stay in touch.
Accessibility technology provides the disabled with additional freedom.
Navigation apps make unknown locations less intimidating.
Automation removes some of the repetitive work.
These are not mere conveniences.
They change the possibilities of people.
And it is a much more significant measure of technological progress.
Nevertheless, freedom requires limits
The paradox is that some technologies that give us more freedom can also make it more difficult to preserve our time.
Working remotely is one of such cases.
A person gains the opportunity to work from home and not to make a daily commute.
However, if the workplace applications are installed in the same device where one communicates with relatives and friends, then the boundary between working and personal life gets blurry.
The technology has provided the person with the possibility of flexibility.
The lack of boundaries has created one more problem.
It is not a flaw of the technology.
It is merely a reminder that tools do not determine the way they are used.
We do it ourselves.
However, as our devices become more and more powerful, it is more important to be responsible for their usage.
Maybe, the real measure of the progress is control
One of the useful questions about technology is not
“Does this technology make life easier?”
But
“Does it give me more control over my time, attention, and decisions?”
Sometimes, the answer is obvious.
A navigation app allows to control one’s movement to an unknown location.
Online banking provides the control over routine financial transactions.
Digital calendar gives one a possibility to control the complicated schedule.
However, another piece of technology can make some action easier while demanding additional attention in return.
It is the role of the individual experience.
Something that makes the life of one person easier can complicate the life of another.
There is no universal concept of convenience.
It is not necessary to reject the technology in order to use it differently
The answer is not to return to the world without smartphones, online services, and connected devices.
It would be a bit too naïve.
It would also ignore the benefits that technology provides to us.
Instead, we may need to become more selective.
Do we need this notification?
Do we need another subscription?
Does this smart device solve any problem?
Is this application really saves our time or just gives us additional place to spend it?
Does this convenience helps us to achieve something meaningful or just makes consumption easier?
The questions are simple.
However, they can change the way we deal with technology.
The easiest life is not necessarily the best life
Maybe, we asked the wrong question.
The technology does not need to make our lives easier.
It needs to give us more opportunities to spend our precious time on meaningful things.
Sometimes, it means removing some irritating actions.
Sometimes, it means making something possible that was impossible before.
And sometimes, it means realizing when it is inappropriate to automate something.
The life where everything can be done in five seconds sounds great.
However, human life is not a list of tasks to be done as quick as possible.
There are things that are valuable precisely because they take time.
The conversation can be long.
The meal can be slow.
The walk can be unnecessary.
The hobby can be inefficient.
The weekend can consist of zero productive activities.
The technology can help us to protect such experiences.
However, it can also compete with them.
It all depends on how intentional we use it.
So, has technology made everyday life easier?
Yes.
And no.
It has removed huge amounts of unnecessary work. It has connected people. It has expanded access to information. It has made countless everyday actions faster.
However, it has also raised our expectations, increased the number of digital systems to manage and made constant connectivity the norm.
Thus, the technology has not only made our lives easier.
It has changed our idea of what is easy.
It matters.
Perhaps, the aim of the future technologies should not be in eliminating every inconvenience.
Maybe, it should be in helping us to understand which inconvenience is worth preserving.
The most useful technology is not the technology that saves the most seconds.
It is the technology that gives us more freedom to spend our seconds in the proper way.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has technology made everyday life easier?
In many ways, yes. Modern technology has made our communication, transportation, shopping, banking, entertainment and access to information simpler. However, it has also created new kinds of complexity and constant connectivity.
Does convenience always increase the quality of life?
Not always. It can save time and effort. But excessive convenience can also promote constant consumption or prevent people from engaging in some activities requiring patience and attention.
Why does technology make our lives more complicated sometimes?
Because many digital products solve some problems but create new systems to manage. There can be multiple accounts, passwords, notifications, subscriptions and connected devices, although the products themselves can be useful.
Does technology make people impatient?
Modern technology has made many processes significantly faster, and thus, it has changed expectations. With increasing familiarity with immediate results, ordinary delays can become more annoying than before.
What makes the technology useful?
Technological products tend to be useful when they solve a problem, save time/effort, expand the range of capabilities or give more control without creating unnecessary complexity.
