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Has modern technology made people lose sense of their priorities?

Modern technology has revolutionised the way we do many things in our lives. It can even affect our values and our sense of priorities. There are reasons to believe that technology allows us to make our priorities clear, and helps us keep to them. However, when we become too reliant on technology, we may end up focusing on doing more and more without considering the need to have high quality work. We may even end of mis-allocating resources to get more technology instead of using resources for other more pressing needs. As such, I think that technology is, by and large, not used in ways that help us preserve our sense of priorities.

To begin with, one of the arguments for the use of technology is that it makes our work efficient and helps us become more productive, since earning a living and keeping our jobs (for most people) is a priority that we need to have just to survive in this economically-competitive modern world. True enough, there are so many kinds of technology that do just this, such as fax machines, computers, industrial technology especially of mass production and transport. Having used these technologies, we then raise our expectations because we hold on to the attitudes that we should do more because we can, or that we should do more to prevent competitors from outperforming us. So, to our mistaken delight, our inboxes remain full and our to-do list is increasingly left unchecked. This is what it looks like when technology compels us to make work our main priority.

However, all that efficiency which we consider necessary for survival has taken its toll on some of our other priorities. One of these is health. Health is a long-term priority. Since the wear-andtear of the human body is inevitable, we must prioritise aging well. Our use of technology to push ourselves at work accelerates this wear-and-tear by causing stress, fatigue and other physical ailments. Some may argue that we can use technology to gain health (think sophisticated gym equipment). They argue that this will help set things right and give some balance in our lives. But in modern societies, work has become such a significant part of our lives that it usurps the time we have for other necessary things like

exercise or, simply, rest. Moreover, in the long-run, the deterioration of good health also results in the drop in the quality of our work because we lose concentration or because we are made to rush through so many tasks. Hence, when it comes to priorities, we have actually become losers on two counts. Another argument in support of the view that technology does not lead to a loss of our sense of priorities is that technology has engendered the creation of all sorts of devices and systems that actually help us put our lives in order. Many people and groups or companies use accounting software such as Mind Your Own Business (MYOB) to organise their financial records. This facilitates in their making decisions about what expenses to prioritise in the future. Calendars and organisers now come in the form of smartphone applications, so we can keep track of our lives while on-the-go, and put, as Stephen Covey says, first things first. Even the knowledge that the internet exposes us to helps us make all sorts of decisions from how to plan our travel itinerary to what exercise routines to focus on for better results.

But the problems of enjoying the luxury of technology are that we become over-reliant and we end up promoting consumerism. These can adversely affect our sense of priorities too.

Over-reliance on technology distracts us in a number of ways. Firstly, we can get addicted to entertainment like computer games. One of the culprits of poor performance in school today is the addiction to computer games. Compulsive gamers lose track of time and lose focus in doing their other duties at work or school due to many sleepless nights spent online to get to the next level of their game. In a bizarre and extreme incident, a South Korean couple became so addicted to computer games that they neglected to feed their newborn child causing her death.

Secondly, apart from mis-allocating time, we could end up spending unnecessarily on gadgets and their peripherals, and future software updates, instead of apportioning that money on other things such as savings for a rainy day or for further education. Young people could be prone to wasting on technological devices especially if their needs are sufficiently met by their parents or the state.

The state, too, could be guilty losing its priorities if it makes investments in technology without investing in its people as well. Without building the capacity of its people, the technology would then have to be continuously operated and supported by foreign expertise, so the economic gains of applying technology do not trickle down to the local community. States obsessed with building military might could also spend more on technology instead of on public goods like education, healthcare or transport, leading to a poorer quality of life for the masses.

Despite all the criticisms made against technology, I concede that the quality of personal relationships which is a priority for naturally-communal Man can be built upon using technology. Our iPhones and Blackberrys, all souped up with video-call applications like Skype and FaceTime, will help us connect with loved ones who are oceans away. Admittedly, the nature of interaction is different. Video or tele-conversations cannot go on for hours, and text or email messages are shorter still. While we can interpret all this as a loss of personal touch, the fact that we take that step to consciously use technology to reach out to family and friends wherever they may be, is a clear enough sign that we have not relegated these relationships to the back of our list of priorities.

Having said all this, it is important to reiterate that technology is still a tool that we can control to achieve our aims. If we remain clear of what our priorities are, then we will be more deliberate and calculated in our use of technology. Unfortunately for now, this is not the prevalent situation because, more often than not, we find that technology is driving us instead. The challenge for us is how to manage this situation so that we can get the best out of technology and not resort to totally logging out, unplugging and disconnecting to save our sense of priorities.

(1085 words)

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