Too Reliant on Technology?

There have been several instances lately where I have been absolutely knocked back on my tail because of how reliant people are today on technology - myself being no exception to this. It seems that no matter what we do these days, it in some way involves the use technology. We have managed to integrate computers, electronics and countless other technological advances into every aspect of our day to day lives to make them easier. However, do we rely on these innovations more than we should?

It seems that nowadays, everything can be done from the comfort of one's own home. From buying groceries to going to school, there is an online solution for everything. It hit me the other day when I ordered a refill of my prescription online from the CVS website - without even needing to pick up the phone and speak to anybody: The need for human interaction in a normal day has become entirely void. Though it may have been a simple thing like ordering a prescription, it was this that shocked me to my core - was all of this technology turning everyone into hermits?

I decided to put this to the test. I took 2 days of my life (a weekend, as I work during the week) and wanted to see how easy or hard it would be to go through the entire 48 hours without any real human interaction, aside from my family who I share a home with. What I found made my stomach turn a bit and scared me - it was too easy. I considered this: thousands of people have work-at-home jobs, now. Men and women find friends, dates and spouses through the internet. Even fast food places are beginning to offer an "order online!" option (check out campusfoods.com, for example). This way, a person could make the money they need to live, companionship and food without ever having to set foot outside of their homes. Some folks even grow so attached to this "from home" lifestyle that they begin to lose interest in doing things the old fashioned way; grocery shopping in a market, calling the pharmacy to order their medicine, going out in social settings to meet new friends and love interests. Frankly, the way in which we have become so technologically reliant scares me; call me a hypocrite, as I admit that I'm one of the people who will sooner find the remote than get up and turn the TV on by hand, but I feel uneasy knowing that this is a world where we no longer have to be self-reliant.

Of course, not all of the advances mean a negative influence upon our lives. For example, child trackers (while controversial) have cut down on the number of missing and kidnapped children in the past few years; there are men and women who have met the loves of their lives through the internet and have never been happier. However, consider this: next time your power fails, where will you get your news? Your entertainment? Your clothes and medicine? We all know the old-fashioned way of doing things, but how reluctant we are when we need to actually perform them.

Technology is here to make our lives more convenient, however in many respects we may have taken these innovations a bit too far. When the convenience turns to laziness, is it time we stepped back?

Technology is a great thing for helping make our lives more convenient. However, as we continue to make technological advances it becomes more and more apparent that people are becoming more technologically reliant and less self reliant. How much is too much, and how far is too far when it comes to technology?