The Robots are Taking Over!

I, potentially like many of you reading this article, have experienced the complete chaos that was online teaching. My entire second year was spent staring at the little faces on my computer screen in my pyjamas, forever on the cusp of a buffer, failed connection, or the lecturer not realising the video was on mute the whole time. My bedroom was my sanctuary and my workplace – something that I now, with every fibre in my being, avoid at all costs. Online teaching had its perks; anytime was a suitable time for a cup of tea; I never had to wear actual trousers; 24-hour open exams! But such close and constant contact with assessments, deadlines, and secondary readings caused a total inability to just relax, to be able to escape the university stressfest. Don’t get me wrong, the convenience of it all was marvellous, but is it truly worth the bombardment?

Technology has always been something I loved. Everything is in one place and its intelligence and ability make up for where I lack, for example the calculator function. It would be weird to use the original device for such tasks nowadays, no one just has a calculator in their pocket and if they did, it’s almost guaranteed some weird looks. I’m sure in the advent of technology, it was exhilarating – all the possibilities! You could send letters to one another instantly, you could look up anything without having to look through a book or ask your dad, you could talk to people on the phone (and eventually, not have to be attached to a wall the whole time). Computers, phones, televisions; they were designed for our convenience, for our entertainment. I genuinely don’t believe that there was ever any goal for the future that we now live in, simply some people who wanted to make life easier. Even now technology has a massively positive impact, it can literally save people’s lives. But then the businessmen came in and decided that this was going to become the next hotshot consumerist dream. Technology became a commodity that could be forever improved, forever made more appealing, more sellable, more necessary. Suddenly, you need it to breathe, all in a bet to make profit.

And it works. The dependency that I have on my phone is genuinely embarrassing. I won’t leave the house without it, I get invasive thoughts that I’ve lost it and then must check. If I ever did lose it (God forbid), I seriously think I’d be equally as worried as if I’d lost my dog in the park. The emotional attachment I have to my phone is mortifying and my functionality as an adult truly does depend on it.

Everything is on my phone - payment cards, banking, maps, addresses, deadlines, calendars. I no longer need a separate device to listen to music or watch TV, no longer do I need a book to read a book. I will never question the practicality and ease that technology brings, but I do worry about the absolute necessity it has become for the world to keep turning.

But is it too late to turn back now? Honestly, and this may just be the pessimist in me speaking, I think so. The improvements being made to technology to make it more useful (and thus, more addictive) show no sign of stopping. In fact, they are speeding up. There has been a new iPhone model every year since 2007, they have now invented voice-controlled smart bathtubs, they are trying to make DRIVERLESS CARS PEOPLE. When will this madness end? When will it finally be enough? When the movie WALL-E has finally become a reality? Seriously, I think they really hit the nail on the head with that one.

Although I believe that we are on the slippery slope downhill when it comes to the development of technology, I do believe there is opportunity for salvation when it comes to reducing personal usage. Setting timers on apps, leaving your phone in the other room, going outside for a walk to break up the day. It’s crucial for students to take breaks from the screens as often as feasibly possible. We are so chronically on phones and computers because all our work is on them, our lives are on them. I’ve come to accept that I will never be able to fully drop technology and live in a hut in the woods. I have literally typed this article on a computer and emailed it to Rochelle. But take a break from it when you can. If you won’t do it for yourself, do it so WALL-E doesn’t have to live on Earth all by himself while we just sit in floating chairs in space!

by Eliza Checkley-Mills.