A Being Of Technology

Has it ever occurred to you that almost everything in our society is driven by technology? Look at the way we dress, talk, and view things. When you look closely, it feels as if our whole lives are written along the lines of technology. If this is so then what are we really?

Homo Technologicus, user of technology, is what most of us are. Daily, we make use of things that are 

supposed to make life easier. Every day, we have personal experiences with such objects without knowing much about them. It seems almost impossible to function without them. Try imagining life without an alarm clock, cellphone or a computer? It has become unthinkable since we use them so often that they have become a part of our identity. But the ironic truth is that we keep using them but don’t even know how to fully utilize them. Most of us are only users of such advancements. Rarely do we see someone stop and think about how these things emerged.  

I guess I believe that we are all just mere users of technology since we cannot come to understand how each and every detail of it emerged. In fact, I don’t even believe that there exists a technology that sprung out of pure invention .This realization came to me when I thought about mobile phones. I know that we would most likely find that Dr. Martin Cooper was the one who invented it. But is that really true? Isn’t technology after all a revelation? Aren’t we just using all this technological information to “invent” new technology? When it comes down to it, it feels almost impossible to go down to every detail of technological advancements to create a new tool. The world we live in today is then just a modification of these patterns within technology and its self-revelation to us.

In a sense, my being a Homo Technologicus saddens me. I use my laptop every day without a clue as to what makes it work. I guess this issue’s connection to reality is what really makes being a Homo Technologicus saddening. Our society is defined by the technologies we have now. We classify our kind based on which gadgets they have, can use and can buy. This is a sad reality since the divide we have exists because of advancements we claim to use but do not even understand.