CULTURE of CONVENIENCE words Rozali Telbis
Humankind has long tried to find ways to simplify our lives. It wasn’t until the 1960s when the convenience revolution took off. Domestic conveniences like the TV dinner, cake-in-a-box, and the countertop microwave oven began to emerge. In the ‘60s, these convenience technologies restructured the foundations of social and domestic life. Educator and professor Ursula Franklin noted, “Technology built the house in which we all live.”1 Today, that house is filled with smart devices to turn off our lights, measure our breathing, track our heart rate, count our steps, monitor our stress levels, announce the weather, and lock our doors. Franklin predicted how technology would fundamentally re-order and restructure social relations and the self. Today, people see convenience technology as an instrument of liberation and freedom for all. Convenience technologies have delivered us more shortcuts to life’s menial tasks, but they are governed by systems of corporate imperialism; they are ironically doing more to enslave than liberate us. 28
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