The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Slow down technology’s relentless pace
“Slow” phenomena are popping up all over. A “slow food” movement started in Italy to counter McDonald’s and other chains. Japan has a “slow life” initiative to slacken the pace of living.
Why not a “slow tech” movement? At first it may seem contradictory. Technology’s primary contribution has been efficiency, helping us get more done in less time. The Internet boom is all about shrinking time and distance. The innovation and new ideas associated with technology seem to thrive on speed — faster chips, faster networks, faster communications.
So what would be the point of slowing it all down? For one thing, taking pause would help us put technology’s role in our lives in better perspective.
Somewhat ironic, coming from a fan — and biographer — of Bill Gates . . . . . a guy who wants a computer in every house (perhaps amended now to every room in the house) has lot to answer for.
This is a pretty shallow look at this idea. Instead of “slow tech” how about “conscious tech” as a description. I don’t know anyone who wants a slower computer or a slower network connection: what we want is to do what we’ve done in less time and/or with less hassle and we don’t want the technology to get in our way. Great art conceals art (attributed to Stanislavsky, as best I can find), and I would restate it for the sake of this argument as “great technology conceals technology.”
In my household as in many others, the internet connection replaces, either partially or totally, some things like TV and newspapers, the telephone, the yellow pages, etc. I can look up business locations, track down news or sports information, comparison shop for good and services, all with a single service. is it perfect? No, not yet. Do I want to go back to the pre-Internet days? No. It is an improvement, on balance: the distractions and annoyances are outweighed by the benefits.
But that doesn’t mean I do email or web-browsing on my phone or constrain my excursions to within 100 yards of an internet kiosk. When I see ads for PocketPC and similar electronic leashes where the copy commands you to spend your bus or rail commute time checking your email or updating your calendar, I shake my head.
We don’t need to be told to work more or spend more time connected to our workplaces. As was said of water and fire, technology is a good servant but a poor master.
One of the parting gifts I got the other week when I left my job was 365 Health and Happiness Boosters: it’s geared more to the distaff side, but it’s underlying philosophy is that there’s nothing wrong with taking time out for yourself. Simple things like letting the phone ring three times before you answer it will make you wonder, what’s the hurry?
If you take that to heart, you’ll find yourself stopping to think whether or not you need to check your email right now (can it wait? let it) or your voice mail messages (will you be able to act on the requests? if not, will it just make you anxious?).
Aaron Swartz’s recent discussion of procrastination has me wondering about the relationship of that to the prevalence of technology: it’s easier to procrastinate when you have a variety of distractions a mouseclick away, after all. How much of the random work-avoiding browsing and email sending and receiving is conscious or purposeful?