Is our Increased Reliance on Technology a Bad Thing?

­Digital Trends has an extremely provocative piece about overreliance on smart homes, but if we extrapolate even a tiny bit, it applies to the Internet of Things and the extent of our tech-driven existence (including and especially smartphones).

The author mentions going on vacation and trying to raise Alexa from his hotel room. In that relatively isolated incident, the subject had to shamefully engage with analog technologies (i.e., manually flip the light switch) – no real catastrophe – but our familiarity with manually-operated tech will only diminish as we move inexorably towards a near-100% digital world that’s connected via the IoT.

And what’s our primary conduit for the IoT? Smartphones.

Digital Trends’ Patrick Hearn equates our modern tech dependance with nomophobia (the fear of having no mobile phone), which has become far more acute as smartphones have become our primary point-of-contact with the outside world – a web browser, chat device, GPS, news ticker, compass, gaming platform, and even, on occasion, a phone.

And I think we’ve largely focused on mobile usage as the proverbial “canary in the coal mine.”

“Today, we’re constantly and consistently connected to our friends, our family, and the world at large. Sometimes that creates a physical response when that connection is cut off,” Patrick says.

But just how tech-dependent have we become and when does it become a detriment?

The HBFF’s piece on technology addiction was penned in 2017, when worldwide smartphone penetration stood at about 44% and most people probably didn’t think they’d eventually supplant traditional laptops and desktops.

A mere five years later, the number of global smartphone users is 6.648 billion, or about 83.72% of the world’s population. That’s a sea change in societal behavior and its relationship with technology (and the nascent IoT).

And while a high percentage still own laptops or desktops (about ¾ of all Americans), that number varies dramatically across different demographics. About 80% of white adults own a laptop or desktop, with 69% of black adults and 67% of Hispanic adults having the same.

On the other end of the spectrum, about 25% of Hispanic adults are “smartphone-only” internet users, meaning they use a smartphone but lack traditional home broadband connections (emphasis mine).

And I believe that figure will continue to rise – across the demographic spectrum – as future generations become immersed in the IoT almost from birth (my five-year-old is already adept with a Kindle Fire tablet). Even in my own case, I only use a laptop for work. Otherwise, I’m completely on my smartphone.

I’d argue that my – and countless others’ – relationship with technology has simply moved horizontally from one vehicle to another.

So the agita over our supposed smart home (and smartphone) dependance might be missing the point – yes, our reliance on technology is higher than it was for much of the 20th century, but as the IoT matures, our access point is changing, not growing.

And if what truly separates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom is our ability to use tools (technology, by any other name) I’d argue that a close relationship with the IoT – and all its associated devices – is a net positive.