[nabs-l] Interesting discussion: Is Technology Turning into Our Enemy?

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

Hey,

First, for those of you looking for a mobile with no bells and whistles,
check out the Samsung Haven.  It is a fully accessible mobile out of the
package, but it only does the basic functions.  You can text with it,
but otherwise it is a simple phone.

I bring this up purely for the sake of discussion.  Based on this
current dialogue about social security, is it fair that blind people
qualify for government assistance just for being blind?  No disabled
people have to live in this economy too, and many of them do not qualify
for these benefits.  Is it fair that disabled people struggling
automatically qualify for SSI and SSDI?

Technology-- social media, email, portable devices-- can be great and
serve a purpose, but when we rely on them to the point that we can't
survive without them, this is not healthy and scares me.

I am only 30, and I remember when having a computer and internet
connection were the things we thought so cool and could not wait to
have.  Now, our world relies on computers and internet for everything.

I will admit that I would love to have an I-phone, but I also abhor our
inability to cope without technology.

I know for blind people, technology has opened doors, but for some, it
has not enhanced their lives by seeking education, employment and
reaching their full potential.  Current technology just replaces the old
for some to feel connected and productive, but really they are just
perpetuating perceptions and stereotypes.  More often than naught, we
are our own worse enemy.

This is not just a problem for the blind, though we currently have more
to lose at this point.

Most public schools are completely replacing hand writing with keyboard
classes.  Kindergartners through second grade spend class time working
on Leapster devices.  Graduating high school seniors have no clue how to
construct a sentence let alone an academic paper.

People think I am a paranoid conspiracy theorist, but for anyone who
enjoys science fiction, many of these things once considered fiction
have now come true.  Anyone ever read Fahrenheit 451?  It is eerie some
of the similarities in that book to our current world.

There is a scene in the book where the main characters wife spends her
time in a room with a large screen on each wall.  Strangers are up on
each screen in their own four screen room, and they interact with one
another.

Sound like anything familiar?  Skype?  Laptops with cameras?  Video
phones?

We've given ourselves a sense of socialization because we have 300
Facebook friends, and 2000 Twitter followers, and we Skype to people
from all around the world.  What we're really doing is sitting at home
numbing ourselves to a real existence.  Will the day come when physical
interaction seems weird to us?

I don't want to be all gloom and doom.  Like I said, this technology can
serve a purpose, but we have to learn to not abuse it.  Especially as
blind people.  Those before us fought so we could join society and
become equals.  Not for us to sit at home pretending to be plugged into
life.

I'm really not as crazy as I sound.  *smile*  I just like a good
discussion.

Bridgit