Technology Should Serve Us, Not the Other Way Around!

Geoff Weber, CEO
April 6, 2023

Technology has come a long way. It’s made our lives easier in countless ways. From work to entertainment, digital technology has become an integral part of our daily lives. However, with the advancement of digital technology, there has been a growing concern that we are serving the digital platform, rather than it serving us. With the monetization of our digital data, some say technology has turned the consumer into the product. 

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‍The Evolution of Technology

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‍Technology has come a long way in recent years. From the invention of the wheel to the latest smartphones, technology has been a driving force behind human progress. It has helped us to improve our lives in countless ways, from improving health care to increasing productivity in the workplace. However, this progress has come at a cost.

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As technology has evolved, it has become more complex, and the processes we use to interact with it have become more complicated. We have become slaves to technology, and it is making our lives more complicated. We have become dependent on technology to the point where we cannot function without it. This dependence is becoming a problem, and we need to take a step back and reevaluate our relationship with technology.

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The Negative Impact of Technology

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‍‍Technology has had a negative impact on our lives in many ways. The overuse of technology has been linked to mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression, and it has been linked to sleep disorders, such as insomnia.  These issues are significantly more pronounced in young children and teens.

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Additionally, technology has also had a negative impact on our social lives. We are becoming increasingly reliant on technology for communication, and this is having a negative impact on our face-to-face interactions and interpersonal communication skills. We are losing the ability to communicate effectively with others, and this is having a negative impact on our social lives, business, and the social structure of the country as whole.

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‍Technology Now Turns the Consumer into the Product

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Technology should be developed and presented to users in a way that is beneficial to them. It should be developed with the user in mind, and not just for the sake of innovation. Technology should be designed to make our lives easier, not more complicated. It should serve us and our needs.

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To illustrate this point, smartphones have become an essential part of our daily lives. They are used for everything from communication, to entertainment, and even work. However, smartphones have become increasingly complicated, and the processes we use to interact with them have become more complex. We have become slaves to our smartphones, and they are making our lives more complicated, not less.

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While our smartphones, smart homes, and smart cars certainly have aspects of them that make our lives simpler and more convenient, the average user only uses a fraction of their smart devices total functionality!  Most users are simply unaware of those features or those functions are too complicated. Many features have no purpose or use in the average person's daily life.  

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Often, these apps, programs, or functions are simply innovation for the sake of simply being something new.  They offer no value added to the user, but they do increase the cost of purchasing, maintaining, and repairing our devices.  New technologies should have an emphasis on the needs of the user, and not to increase the popularity of the technology platform.   

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‍The Importance of a Balanced Approach

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It is important that we take a balanced approach to technology. We need to acknowledge the benefits of technology, while also being aware of the negative impact it can have on our lives. We need to find a balance between using technology to improve our lives and being aware of the negative impact it can have. We should use technology to improve our productivity in the workplace, to stay connected with others, but we should also be aware of the negative impact it can have on our social lives on our overall mental health.

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Millions of memories preserved.

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Lost & Found

Memories from thrift stores, flea, markets, and abonded storage lockers.

Older couple in front of mountain viewing spot looking at each other

Yosemite Valley, ~1960s

We found this picture of a beautiful couple standing in front of Half Dome, one of Yosemite Valley’s most recognizable landmarks. Yosemite Valley in California sees millions of visitors each year (a record 5 million people visited in 2016!). Even though the park sees so many people, each person typically only sees it once…and it’s always a special memory. This picture was nestled in a collection of photos from all over the world – from California to New Orleans to Paris, Germany, Africa, and more. But despite the awe-inspiring view behind them, the couple seems more entranced with each other than anything around them.

An image of highschoolers about to attend prom with their dates

Prom, 1966

The charm and beauty of prom captures the hearts of young men and women across the country every year. For many, it’s their first formal affair, their first step into a glamorous world built only for them. But perhaps more memorable are the days and moments leading up to the ceremony. Before the first song ever plays, ladies are shopping with friends to find the perfect dress, gentlemen are building up the courage to ask for a date, and both are speechless at the first sight of each other. The laughter and smiles found in these moments often planted roots for love to blossom.

Mother showing toddler in a crib their reflection in a mirror

Love unbound, circa 1966

Every generation faces unique challenges. To meet them, we stand on the shoulders of our loved ones and become more than they ever could. In time, we do the same for our children, lifting them higher still to achieve what we could only dream of. While we were busying admiring those who guided us, candid memories like this remind us of the care they took to show us the world we live in. Hairstyles and fashion choices come and go. Pop culture changes with the wind. But the excitement that comes from these experiences – whether learning them for the first time or passing them along to the next generation – creates unforgettable feelings that deserve to last forever.

2 men holding animals a chihuahua and a donkey side by side

Sharing laughs, circa 1965

Some of our memories are defined by the times. We proudly showed off our bellbottom pants and 8-track tapes, wore loud clothes and big hair, and proved that grunge wasn’t just music, it was a way of life. These were the times of our self-expression. But our most important memories weren’t shaped by self-expression, they were shaped by mutual expression, by the friends who stood beside us. Friends have a way of bringing out the best in us. They help define who we are through the experiences we share. The smiles, the laughs, and even the tears create a bond stronger than time.

Children on a swing set looking at the camera

Swinging, ~1965

Autumn brings about a time of great change. Like the trees that shed their leaves, we put the summer behind us, trading t-shirts for sweaters and beaches for playgrounds. And it was on the swing sets of our youth that we learned we could touch the clouds if we but yearned to fly. As Robert Frost once told us, “Nothing gold can stay.” Nearly a century later, his words remind us that true beauty lives only in the moment, and those moments are worth remembering.

Man sitting on a giraffe statue

Riding Giraffes, ~1965

Life has a way of forcing our focus on the future. We plan and schedule and organize and hope that it all helps us get to where we think we want to be. But when the meetings are over and the offices close, we escape to the places that make us forget it all. Places like the Nut Tree in Vacaville, CA, offered retreat to residents and tourists and foreign dignitaries alike. At its height, it was “the ‘go-to’ spot no matter your passions or your age. We all had a place like this, somewhere we could be ourselves among friends that always made us smile.

Image of people at a table in a home smiling at camera

Change, ~1970s

We often take pictures to capture the moment, to relive the happiness and joy we felt in years past. But when we look back on them decades later, we find that pictures are so much more powerful. They preserve the smiles, of course, but they also chronicle change. We all experience it. The laughter and tears, the wins and the losses, and at every turn we love and mourn and grow. Pictures like this show that as we grow, so too does the world.

Image of a teen boy holding a soda while 2 elementary boys make silly faces

Choices, ~1977

Just because we were there together doesn’t mean we had the same experience. We remember things differently because our priorities were different. Some of us let the experience define the memory, while others chose to define it themselves. We often rush through life, bouncing between the big moments and taking ourselves too seriously. We move from one day to the next with little regard for the small moments that fill each one. Meanwhile, those around us are having the time of their lives in every moment they can. So, we have a choice: we can wait for the memorable moments to find us, or we can create the times that are worth remembering.
When you look back at your own pictures, do you see a defining moment, or a moment defined?

Image of a boy wearing a blue power ranger costume

Transformations, 1994

As we get older, holidays tend to take on new meanings for us. New Year’s Eve becomes less about the party and more about spending another year with friends, Christmas less about getting gifts and more about giving them, and we understand the things we’re thankful for during Thanksgiving more than ever. But no matter how old we are, the excitement of putting on a costume for Halloween never changes. Whether we’re giving the candy or getting it, Halloween allows us to transform into whatever we want. We can be spooky ghosts wrapped in sheets or wear plastic teeth and threaten to suck the blood from our friend’s necks.

Image of an older man showing his fish catches of the day

Showing off, 1996

We all have our own hobbies. Some of us like golfing with friends, or painting a comforting picture surrounded by idyllic scenery. Others enjoy playing music, writing stories, or woodworking. But almost everyone has spent at least a day on the water with nothing but a fishing pole and the hope of catching the big one. Whether you’re bragging about your amazing hole-in-one or that giant fish that got away, we all love sharing our adventures. That’s why memories like this are so important. Our friends won’t always believe us when we tell them how big that fish really was, but they can’t argue when we show them the picture.

Black and white image of US Navy Sailors

Camaraderie, 1954

When we remember significant events in our lives, we remember the friends who supported us the most. As we get older, these memories become more caricatures than factual, and many of the people we enjoyed being with are lost in the fog of our minds. Military members meet a significant amount of people all the time. Whether through the constant rotation of personnel through a unit or the many classes that provide networking opportunities, service-members often remember events more often than names or faces. But when we look back on pictures like this, a flood of memories comes rushing through. Suddenly, we’re a part of the conversations all over again. We see the faces and hear the laughter and we remember the smiles that carried us through those important times.

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