Has technology become addictive?

Everyone demands the latest technology today. But why? Because we want to have the most advanced, what everyone thinks is “the best.” Take Apple products for example, whenever there is a new product, like a new Macbook, everyone wants it even though it might not be much of a change from the previous model. Such as the last Apple announcement where the press flocked to the latest Macbook Pro, it’s a sort of attraction that a lot of people go to. According to Robert Scoble, who was there at the event, said that the press go to Apple products because “the press knows that an article, picture, or video of Apple stuff usually gets far more traffic than articles about other companies’ product announcements.” This unbelievable attraction to Apple products has been dubbed as “The Cult of Apple,” since it is compared to how cult followers react to whoever they follow. Another example of Apple cultism is a humorous webcomic by Matthew Inman, showing how a person will do anything to get the latest product. In another part of a different webcomic, he shows how far smartphone users will go to defend their products, such as the Android vs iPhone debate, where fans at times go tooth and nail just to prove that their iDevice is better than the others’ Nexus.

 

 

The Internet is also very addictive, just ask Jason Russell, the creator of the Kony 2012 video. After making the video and becoming a celebrity of sorts, he could barely sleep for the first four days as he could not keep away from the Internet, mainly Twitter. Eight days after the Kony video, he “took off his clothes and went to the corner of a busy intersection near his home in San Diego, where he repeatedly slapped the concrete with both palms and ranted about the devil.” After that, Jason was diagnosed with a form of temporary insanity called “reactive psychosis.” What all this shows is that technology and Internet can be addictive and can have unhealthy and dangerous effects, just like drugs do. Another thing technology does is affect us socially. Many times a group would go out to dinner, and most would be communicating through text even when all are there, together to enjoy a meal.

The Associated Press has dubbed it “electronic narcotics,” but can we do about them? As long as new technology is made, which will be always, and as long as people are competitive and want things to talk about, this will keep on happening. Adding to the fact that most things now are done online, such as registering for classes in colleges and applying for jobs, things like these will never stop if we don’t have self control. Martin Luther King Jr. once said “if you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t run, then walk, if you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward,” let’s just hope people move forward and away from the addiction.

 

Photo Credit goes to DemreD on DevianArt

Has technology become addictive?