like anything else it is subject to being overused or over relied upon. It like most other stuff is a tool for us to use, how we use it creates either a benefit or a potential problem.

I love the self checkout at the grocery stores.

and I agree .... some technology is great .... but, yes, it seems as though it's designed to eliminate human contact.

Any time my husband or I call a business on the phone with a question, one of my adult kids will tell me "just look it up on their website"! (and I have found that many businesses are lax in updating their websites!) If I want to call a takeout place to place an order, they tell me to order my food on line. Do't waste time going to a store -- buy stuff from Amazon. Get your library book on line and read it looking at a screen.

Now, I realize a lot of this is very helpful to working people, and I'm not complaining.

The thing that I like the most is GPS, because when I'm driving in a strange town or don't want to get off a highway to ask directions, I find that extremely helpful. Ditto weather forecasts. I don't mind standing in a line in a store, unless it's a real long line ... and, invariably, you will have to wait behind someone whose "technology" is holding everyone else up. (card swiper isn't working, or the card being used is being rejected for some reason). I find that paying with cash is faster, many times.

I have a friend who flat out refuses to use the automated cash registers because she says they takes a job away from a real person.

I love going to the library and taking my time browsing the shelves, only once have I ever read a book on my tablet that I acquired from my library. It was okay, I suppose I might do it once in a great while, but I do like to chat with the librarians who know me and can let me know what's coming up soon or some other service they offer. My library hosts speeches, meetings, workshops, and other things and events.

So, overall, to me it's both good AND bad.

they provide many opportunities for us to engage with live people in the real world.

I enjoy the human interaction, especially since I am alone in an interior office all day. But I also detest how it won't let me bag my groceries the way I like, and of course I am sure the ultimate goal is for stores to eliminate jobs.

People need the jobs. One Shopper's cashier Ii talked to commuted 40+ miles to take this Northern Virginia [higher wages] cashier job.

a world that is crueler. We're seeing it now where everybody can leave nasty comments on news stories and expert knowledge is no longer respected.

maybe people are cowards.

I love knowledge. I was one of the last on the smart phone bandwagon. I absolutely LOVE mine now. I guess there are some who would go back to rotary phones with party lines, but I am not one of them. I embrace technology.

human contact were air conditioning, the car, TV and electric garage door openers. Most us wouldn’t do without any of them.

I've been in love with tech since I was a child. I've welcomed every new thing and look forward to what's coming.

I can now research things for work without having to go to libraries, wading through thousands of pages of info from subscription services, etc. I like forums, like on musical instruments. I can keep up with the latest info at whatever time suits me.

I can keep up with my loved ones, find my way around without stopping to read a small map (which now often requires a magnifying glass). I can look up medical problems.

I can hike complicated trails with stored maps, etc. If GPS is available, I can go almost anywhere. I can deposit checks without leaving my house, order stuff on-line that I can't find locally, etc.

Just bought a relatively inexpensive new car with all kinds of technology that make driving safer.

I don't use 10% of the capabilities of today's technology.

My main gripe is people walking around talking on their phones. I guess my hearing has deteriorated or it's just paranoia, but I find myself spinning around to see if someone is talking to me.

I suppose things like self check-out do eliminate some jobs, that's unfortunate. But they create better jobs too. Besides, I just don't think one can stop technology. I think digital surveillance keeps us safer, but with obvious issues if used improperly.

I suspect someday that technology will save my, or someone I care about, life.

However, I do understand those who decide to live off the grid.

Good thread.

I love how my stereo and 500 albums fit in my pocket. Gone are the days of having 50% of the room taken up by equipment.

Unfortunately I don't have a printer, so I jot down the directions. Works fine for me, but of course I don't go many places, or very far. For long distances, I always used AAA trip tik. Guess this probably dates me! (as does everything)

But, I think you're mixing apples and oranges. With respect to GPS, neighborhoods change, roads change, and I like to go a lot of places. While my husband prefers paper maps and they certainly have their place, it's not always easy to get an up-to-date paper map and I use them mostly as a check that we're headed in the right direction. I love being told when and where to turn (by Siri) and notified about road and traffic conditions ahead. I like being offered an alternate route if needed. None of that is available with a paper map.

However, I HATE self checkout only because it never works for me. It never recognizes my bag, or it accuses me of taking something out of the bagging area, or it can't find the code in its database for a vegetable I'm buying, or... I always end up stuck at the register half checked out until I can flag down a human and have them correct the problem. The self checkout is taking jobs away from humans anyway (or it's supposed to), and I really don't support that.

As far as people taking out their phone to check the weather or Google something, my husband used to complain just like you about this LOL. But then he started asking me to look things up and then he got himself a smart phone and he's on it all the time... It's just the way it is.

when using technology, one may also keep in mind that nothing progresses without taking from someone else.
So the component of cell phones - like blood diamonds - fuel civil war in The Congo,
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/blog/congo-child-labour-mobile-minerals

Likewise deposing of all of our digital devices:
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/09/the-global-cost-of-electronic-waste/502019/

"A Threat to Global Democracy: How Facebook & Surveillance Capitalism Empower Authoritarianism"
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/8/1/a_threat_to_global_democracy_how