Life Without Technology

A pandemic brings certain difficulties whether or not it takes place in a century teeming with the kind of technological advances that make electronic screens commonplace.  If a disease ravages the world, the presence of electronics does not neutralize the risk posed by the pandemic--but it can dramatically soften the troubles experienced by the millions who need to communicate with friends and family members and pass the time as they self-isolate.  Those who are aware of what the year would have looked like without modern devices are likely very grateful for them.

Without electronic technology, 2020 would have been an extremely dull, unproductive, and stagnant year for many people on both a social and occupational level, moreso than other recent years.  I wonder if those who denounce the modern emphasis on technology wish they had endured the COVID-19 lockdown without electronics.  After all, it is rare to find someone who discourages or condemns the regular use of technology and is also consistent in living out their ideas.

Technology is what allowed education and jobs to transition to a virtual phase for at least part of the year, without which entire educational processes and businesses that were able to continue functioning in some capacity might have completely gone on hold.  The type of conservative most likely to selectively object to technology's prominence--and conservatism is at least somewhat directly associated with anti-technology ideas due to its emphasis on tradition and slow change--often relies on technology for things they need or use on a regular basis.

Even before COVID-19, technology was routinely used by people who might turn around and make arbitrary, ironic condemnations of how much the West uses technology, but the pandemic period would have been even more frustrating or fearful for many without electronics.  Electronic technology has provided a plethora of communication channels during a global pandemic, allowing friendships, educational processes, and various jobs to go as unaffected as possible during this time.  It has also sustained the entertainment world to some extent.

Life without technology would not be the social haven that certain subsets of Western culture think it would be.  It would result in fewer social connections and career opportunities, friendships between parties that cannot communicate as frequently, and periods of far greater potential boredom in between meetings with friends.  There would only be a hanful of situational benefits for some people in a world without modern technology, but there would be numerous devastating consequences.

Logic, people.  It is very fucking helpful.