UNITED STATES—I had a conversation with someone recently talking about how the world used to be post the constant improvements of technology. How things used to be so much simpler than what it is nowadays. This alludes to our consumption of news via social media and the Internet, not to mention our banking practices.
The news craze is all online. The goal is to get the news as quick as possible, without always verifying the information before releasing the content to the public. I’ll be honest I can barely remember the last time I read a physical newspaper in print.
I’ll be honest it was a trend for me for years, every Friday I would get the newspaper and happily read it. That was probably before my local newspaper significantly cut the content of the paper and jacked the price to unbelievable rates. I just couldn’t see myself spending $2-$3 for a paper that has less content than I’m used to getting.
Perhaps the biggest blow to everyday operations is the use of technology in retail stores and banking. Someone was nearly appalled when I revealed that I don’t have a debit card and that I don’t use ATMs. I can recall only using an ATM machine once in my entire life, and I never plan to use one again. Why? I don’t like getting money from a machine. I like the notion of going to the bank and cashing my check and withdrawing funds and interacting with people.
We rely on computers too much, what happens if for some apparent reason all technology shuts down. That possibility of getting money from an ATM is out of the question. The same applies for those so called U-Scan machines at many supermarkets and lots of our retail stores nowadays. I mean I don’t want to have to scan my own items and then have a computer tell me what I need to do to proceed. What is the problem with these machines, they still have to be run by a human being. Guess what, those self-checkout machines falter all the time.
When it comes to banking, the ATM only allows you to withdraw a distinct amount of funds each day, and you don’t get to chose how you receive your money. I hate the $20 bill, I always have. It’s like the one monetary value that Americans utilize the most and because of that it seems we spend it quicker than we might spend a $50 or $100 bill.
Imagine if all of your local banking institutions closed and we were forced to rely on machines to obtain our money. What happens if that machine falters? Well we’d be in trouble. That same notion applies for the Apple Pay. I think this is the stupidest thing in the world.
Stop trying to make your cell phone as a device that can do it all. Its purpose is for one thing and one thing only: to talk. Just imagine if you have all your information on your cell phone and you lose it or its gets stolen. You’re in big trouble, your banking info, your email; I mean there are lots of bad things that can happen, by making technology so convenient.
Has anyone taken a moment just to reflect, hey, we used to live fairly well without all of these things? And even though we’ve advanced since the dawn of time, are we heading in a direction where technology will do everything for us. What’s next will we no longer have to bathe ourselves when we go to the bathroom? Stop and think for a moment; technology is apart of our lives, we shouldn’t allow it to CONTROL our lives.
