Technology is stealing your time in ways you may not realise | Hacker News Reader

Technology is stealing your time in ways you may not realise

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31 pointsHary0615 comments

Yes, I have often related our devices to parasites which feed on our attention.

I mean, before the creation of electric light, or at least less expensive fuel based light a lot of the world pretty much shut down at dark. After that point huge numbers of industries started going to 24 hour operations once the affordability metrics were reached.

But that also meant you had to go to work in most of these cases. With the advent of the internet work could come to you wherever you are, all over the planet. And now we see that occurring with powerful computers (phones/tables) that we carry with us at all times.

It's pretty hard for me to get past the very first sentence.

> Technology is supposed to make our lives easier.

Technology isn't supposed to do anything. Technology is a tool to be used. Anyone can use tools incorrectly. Lots of people do, including myself!

I’m always genuinely surprised when I see this sentiment expressed here on HN.

Do you use a hammer to code? A keyboard to paint your walls? Do you strap phones to your feet to move faster or do you use a bike for that?

Technology and other tools very much shape what we do and can do with them. We shape them and they shape us.

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-it-phenomenology/#...

See the 3 different perspectives from here.

Thank you but I actually got a somewhat worthless graduate degree in this stuff.

Do you agree with their statement on technology as a tool as opposed to something that makes our lives easier then?

Can't imagine willingly using a tool that I assess makes my life more difficult.

But that doesn't mean that tools don't make others lives more difficult.

Missiles as a tool to do damage don't necessarily make other peoples lives easier. But it might make the lives easier of those who wish to do damage.

Technology is a tool, which can be used to make lives easier and harder.

"Every person using technology will make every other person's life easier" is not the correct interpretation of the original statement.

I think what they mean is that technology promises to make our lives easier. Phones and our relationship with them are a manifestation of this promise. People buying the latest flagship don't do so because they anticipate things will be worse.

A lot of people buy the latest phone as a fashion symbol, not for the technology.

Most people don’t care about incremental improvements

The purpose of a tool is to simplify the work. Otherwise it's a useless tool

Using it wrong is a result, not indication of intent

Aren't tools supposed to make your life easier though?

I guess we can read into this way too much and become too philosophical.

Technology might make your life easier, but that doesn't mean it makes anyone else's easier.

Technology might help you send a missile into another country, but that doesn't make their lives easier.

Technology is a tool that we use to do what we want to do easier, better however you put it, but it doesn't necessarily make our lives easier. It makes a particular job or task easier.

Even writing this down I am getting too philosophical and disagreeing with myself.

I guess it could make your life easier day to day, but that doesn't mean it makes anyone else easier.

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