An inside look at how technology invades and impacts our life.
2001 the California Highway Department cited cell phone use as a leading cause of accidents.
By Paul King
| Today’s aggressive marketing of mobile communications to minorities is reminiscent of tobacco companies inundating Black media and neighborhoods with ads , while knowing full-well the hazards of smoking. So surrendered have we become to digitized “progress” that many readers no doubt consider all this curmudgeon-speak or the ranting of a conspiracy theorist.
And in fact, no informed person would question the enormous value of technology in matters small and large. Who can challenge the value of SIRI in helping an autistic child to better overcome their language limitations? Or the thousands of dollars saved by small businesses in office and administration costs by using electronic calendars and other applications? Or the millions saved by corporations in using Webinars in place of costly hotel and air travel?Yet I urge educators, jurists, community activists and others concerned about where all this is heading to to consider the following points made by Matt Richtel in his Deadly Wandering:1. Cell phone use while driving will result in jail time, revocation of Driver’s license and civil lawsuits in cases of property damage; 2. Efficient multitasking is a myth, despite what AT&T ads say to the contrary; 3. The power of social connectivity, the need to stay in touch, is, for many both irresistible and addictive; 4. What’s happening today with technology is not unlike the 1970’s with drugs in terms of the pace of adoption and cultural acceptance … only its legal. 5. Net surfing is like a slot machine- you don’t know what quality the information is- so you look at everything until something valuable comes along; Suggestion: make “rules of the techno road” part of the curriculum in public schools, charters and community colleges? Teach the kids some attention science. And how about linking the right to use technology with its responsible use, the way we do with motorized vehicles or firearms? Meanwhile, beware the wandering and distracted walker under the influence. The life you save may be your own. Paul King is a construction consultant and member of Chicago’s Business Leadership Council. king2thing@aol.com |
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