The integration of technology into our daily lives is not news per se, but it is interesting to remind us of the degree to which the two have come together.
Here are a few questions about technologies that have become part of our everyday lives. These technologies have earned our trust to the degree that we have abandoned their analog counterparts or our personal engagement in these activities. This post provides these as something to think about.
Do you have a global positioning system (GPS)? and does your GPS have a name?
GPS systems provide voice based directions often expressed in a female voice. A voice interface does not seem like technology to use, so it is easy for users to anthropomorphize the technology – hence giving the GPS system a name. The family down the road calls their GPS “Betty,” ours goes by the name “Gwen Garmin.”
An extension of this question is – when was the last time you asked for directions? With Google maps, MapQuest, GPS and other location based services. Think about the degree to which you trust those directions ahead of published maps and your friends. Do you turn left, when the GPS says turn left even if you are not sure it's the right thing to do?
What is your kid sister’s telephone number?
It's a simple question and one that 10 years ago you could almost answer by rote memory because that was the only way to reach her. She had one phone number and you had no easy way to store those numbers. Now we all have multiple telephone numbers, often with different area codes making knowing the number that much harder.
Technology to the rescue in terms of phone books that manage the multiple numbers – all you have to do is call people and places. Managing this complexity is something that technology does well and the telephone number has moved from being the primary to a secondary/alternate index. Lose the index and the only way to get back their numbers is either to wait for them to call you or grab your last cellular telephone bill and start calling numbers.
Do you keep a register of your checks? Do you check your credit card statement against your receipts?
Few things are as personal or as important as your personal finances. Electronic money is data and therefore readily supported by technologies such as online banking, personal financial management software like Quicken or other online financial services. These tools aggregate and manage information that we used to manage ourselves, tactically in terms of physically handling checks and checking off credit card statements.
The convenience afforded by personal financial products begs the issue of why you would personally reconcile analog statements when all of the information is readily provided digitally. The answer is simple, because mistakes and fraud are not eliminated by digital integration. In fact people who scan the statement and trust the figures might be surprised if they would periodically balance their statements on paper.
How technical are your personally?
This is the other side of the question raised in this blog. And to be honest, the question is largely irrelevant when we trust technology implicitly and completely. Having a reasonable skepticism of technology and recognizing the personal skills that technology atrophies are signs of people with true technical savvy.
For me, sure I have a GPS and I use mapping web sites, but I also still ask for directions when I get lost. I have a paper telephone directory as a back up. And we always balance our finances manually, often finding just enough errors to more than make up for the effort.
How about you?
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