Losing Touch: How Modern Technology is Disconnecting Humans from the Natural World
Evolution is a curious thing; even though it has been believed to be a process affecting only living beings from the moment the concept was created, one might find that it is not solely pertaining to the living. The extremely fast technological advancement we have experienced in the last 20 years is nothing short of miraculous, and it has improved our quality of life tenfold, no, a hundredfold. Diseases are more easily treatable, living quarters have changed indisputably for the better, travel has transformed from being a time consuming process to the equivalent of a walk in the park. It truly is an age of wonders, but is it really all good?
As a species, we have evolved to the top of our planet’s food chain not because of our extraordinary physical prowess. We are neither as fast as a cheetah, nor bulky as an elephant; we can neither breathe underwater like fish, nor are able to freely soar the skies like an eagle. As constitution goes, we are not very developed as mammals, and upon reaching a point where we could no longer compete with other animals, we have turned to using our brains in order to surpass all these immeasurable gaps.
From the stick to the spear, from walking on foot to inventing the wheel, from barely being able to swim across a river to boats and diving equipment; we have utilized our ingenuity in order to bypass any obstacle that would be insurmountable for our bodies alone, and have persevered in what would seem a rather inhospitable planet for our species, thus becoming the apex predator wherever we settled down. Our ability to improvise, adapt, and overcome all difficulties is truly remarkable; there is no question about it.
Let’s try to compare the evolution of, say, a large feline species compared to a human’s. For instance, the cheetah has populated vast, open spaces which required little three-dimensional movement; so, in order to catch their prey, they have evolved over time to be natural born sprinters. It doesn’t make sense to have endurance when there is no place for the prey to hide, so speed took precedence over endurance. We, the humans, have taken the high road of developing our higher brain functions, to be able to use tools that give us an advantage against predators and thus taking the place of the predator in our environment. The key difference is, obviously, the fact that instead of physically adapting to our environment, we have adapted to the world by surrounding us with constantly advancing technology, which would facilitate a progressively better quality of life.
We have surrounded ourselves with steel and concrete, cozy furniture, and cooking utensils We have truly thrived in our tech abundant environment, and thus have come to rely on technology on levels never seen before. After all, why bother remembering things when an answer to every question is just a Google search away?? Why bother memorizing steps to a specific process when you can simply go over to YouTube and reproduce the steps demonstrated in an educational video? All the information you need is a search away, and technology is so advanced that we are almost certain to have the same conditions in perpetuity. Right?
I have always been very proud of myself on having a rather reliable memory, not eidetic, but surely good enough to remember all the awe inspiring lines from my favorite Marvel movies for years after the last re-watch. However, today I have found myself making a Google search to remember what are the steps to making a Bolognese sauce for my lasagna. It got me thinking, is my memory getting deteriorated to the degree that I cannot remember the proper steps to making a lasagna, or have I, too, grown too reliant on the fact that I can find how to do anything by simply searching for it?
Imagine, for a moment, that all of a sudden electricity is shut down throughout the whole planet. Surely, it could be eventually restored, and it would not have a lasting impact on our lives. Surely our way of life will be restored, and we will be right back in our comfort zone. I have come to realize that our assurance of tomorrow comes from thoughts exactly like this, the certainty that technology has our backs no matter what. But what if it didn’t?
What if we would no longer be able to rely on our technology? In my mind, all I can see is the sight of people who are lost without their phones, their computers, and frantically looking for someone to help them; all that confidence lost in the face of a gadget-free tomorrow. But it goes beyond that, as we would lose access to our constant water supply, our heating and/or cooling appliances. All the activities that we currently meet with frivolity would be much more difficult, as we would have to face them without our tools and gadgets. Simply making a fire to overcome a cold night would be so much more difficult, as we would have to apply mostly forgotten, rudimentary means, like using flint and steel to light some tinder; keeping the fire through the night would necessitate constant watch, which means we would have to change our biorhythm to one we used to have so long ago.
We have grown very distant from the nature in which we have grown as a species, and are currently soaring so high in the clouds of technology that we have forgotten what it is to walk the earth beneath them. We have cut down forests that used to house human tribes thousands of years ago, we have polluted the rivers which were the cradle of all civilization, and almost irreversibly destroyed entire ecosystems to facilitate our need for comfort.
Do not get me wrong, I enjoy my gadgets very much, and appreciate the quality of life which comes with having centralized heating in my apartment in the cold winters, as well as the air conditioner during the progressively hotter summers of late. But, I will take a step back from technology, and will try to build up my survival skills. Perhaps I will round up some friends, and go for a trip to the forest this weekend, disconnect from social media for the whole duration, and try to get closer to nature in the perfect environment for it.
The rapid technological advancement of the last 20 years has greatly improved our quality of life, but it begs the question, at what cost? As we continue to rely more and more on technology, are we putting ourselves at risk of losing our natural abilities and becoming a less resilient species? It is important to consider the potential consequences and have a conversation about how we can ensure that technology enhances our lives without diminishing our human capabilities. As a society, we must have a dialogue about the ethical implications of our reliance on technology and how we can use it responsibly to ensure that we continue to evolve and adapt for the betterment of ourselves and future generations.
