Here we look at; my journey with new technology; does new technology benefit people; is something else the problem; should we combine new with old. This is part of our series on Living Sustainably.
This is difficult for me. Partly because I just turned the characters white, more on that in another article, but mostly because you will think I’m a hypocrite. I’m using technology to create an article that asks if new technology means progress. My opinion is, it depends…
My Journey With New Technology
In the twenty six years of working in sales and marketing I’ve used a lot of new digital technology. It’s strange that I worked in this field. I don’t like sitting at a desk. I get bored. I’ve lasted in these jobs until now because I am compelled to make everything efficient and digital technology has given me the tools to do it. Is it because I’m picky? No, it’s because if we’re efficient we can be more sustainable. If we’re efficient, we have more time to enjoy life.
It’s been a slow journey getting to my opinion about new technology. Most of what I feel is from the last two years, from working at a marketing agency. The clients were mainly software technology companies. At first I found them inspiring. Many say “We automate the basic tasks so people have more time for high value work”. But after a while that didn’t ring true. Many would have a future plan of being bought by larger companies like Microsoft or Google. All are funded by investors. Investors mean they have a fiduciary responsibility to grow, grow, grow. They’re looking for one thing only. PROFIT! Now, profit is good. Success is good. But, only when it benefits people and planet. After all, if we don’t support each other, what life will there be for future generations.
Considering my own experiences with new technology, I find myself more stressed, more overworked, and more miserable than ever. Shouldn’t the use of all these new technologies help me?
Does New Technology Benefit People
My experience is that technology in the workplace can significantly improve productivity but it doesn’t always give greater job satisfaction. It can force people to do more in a shorter space of time. It can take us further away from the “high value work” we should have more time to do. There’s a serious disconnect. Isn’t technology there to support us? Shouldn’t new technology improve our job satisfaction, improve our life? Not to be lazy, as I would be bored. To allow us to embrace life, to live life. Thinking about it, is technology the problem or is it something else?
Technology that helps one person sounds good. As long as it doesn’t mean another person is missing out. For example, it would be great to find ways to save time at the allotment or setting up blog posts. I’m not going to employ anybody to do those tasks. Nobody is missing out. I don’t want to fully automate everything as that disconnects me. Or, I might want to chase somebody that I emailed, if they don’t reply. I can do that with technology. Perfect. Doing the washing. We have washing machines for that and we absolutely wouldn’t want to spend days doing that task.
So, where does my concern come from? Well, I wonder if, sometimes, we don’t actually need new technology. Take farming as one example; years ago, the whole community would come together to help bring in the harvest. Working together. Celebrating together. Building relationships. Fast forward to 2021 and farming is mostly large machines. Little to no community involvement. What did all those people do when technology took their jobs? Have farmers benefited? Or, has new technology put pressure on fewer farmers, making them do more and more. Now, I’m not a Luddite [1] but shouldn’t technology support people?
Is Something Else The Problem?
The problem, I feel, is when new technology replaces people, just to make more profit. A company wouldn’t survive without profit but how much is enough. When the combine harvester [2] or the power loom [1] arrived, would it have been better to use those new technologies to streamline basic tasks at the same time as creating new opportunities for people?
I’ve worked in highly stressful jobs with a lot of responsibility. Those jobs have been desk based, using digital technology. At the end of each day I felt mentally exhausted. I regularly woke up in the middle of the night, with white noise in my head thinking of numbers, spreadsheets, emails… I would finish work and feel that I was drifting through life. I would be at home with my wife and son, but I’m not actually WITH them. I was there in body, but not in mind.
I was reading the amazing book, Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology*, by Eric Brende:
Find Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology Here on Amazon*
and he wrote about sedentary stress. That sums it up perfectly. We have learnt to use new technology but we have not evolved to cope with its impact on our lives. Going to the gym. Having morning runs. It’s not enough. Eating organic or biodynamic food can help our health and contribute to eating sustainably, but we have to do something to acknowledge that the modern workplace, with the pressure of constantly growing profit, is not improving our lives.
Should We Combine New With Old?
Progress does not always mean progress. Studies show that hunter gatherers were happier and healthier [3]. I feel it’s important to get back to our roots, to connect with the world around us. To appreciate the effort that goes into producing food and making products, knowing it’s more than simply popping to the shop, knowing what is ‘enough’, having less and feeling more value, more satisfaction, more gratitude, and considering others. When it comes to work I feel it’s important to know our limits, to know that it’s ok not to always be on email, not to always be on call, not to always work overtime. Chasing constant growth and thinking that growth will make us happy, when it usually takes us further away from achieving that goal. To use the knowledge that we have today, to learn from the past, and to make the future a better place for everybody.
I am still a user of technology but I’m also on a journey. It’s a journey that I feel I’m only just starting. I feel we have lost so much from our past – knowledge, traditions, and values – that we need to combine the best of modern life and new technology with knowledge from the past to have a future that will be better for people, planet and every future generation, to help us all to be happier, to appreciate life, and to live in a way that gives back more than we take, that can be sustained forever. And, if you got this far, thank you for reading. I hope this article sparks some interest and can help you take a step back and consider how tradition and technology can be used for good.
Here Is What You Can Do
- Share this article with others
- Talk to your friends and colleagues about what you’ve read in this article
- Start asking questions about what is enough, is growth really the goal
- Be inspired that having less can give us more value and help us to live sustainably
Where Next?
There is so much inspiring information to give you ideas of how to help climate change by growing, eating, and living sustainably, you can:
- Read Our Articles
- Sign-Up to Our Free Email Newsletter
- Get Started and Vote with Your Money
- Try the Sustainability Roadmap
- Use the Company Directory
- Support Nafford Junction
Help Us Inspire Others
If you are passionate about helping climate change, please consider supporting Nafford Junction, you can:
- Become a Patron to Give Regular Contributions
- Buy Me a Coffee to Make a One-Off Contribution
- Create for Us and Publish Thought Provoking Content
- Become an Inspiring Leader and Advertise with Us
- Go to NaffordJunction.co.uk/support
Sources That I Used To Create This
- Luddite | Wikipedia
- Combine harvester | Wikipedia
- Yuval Noah Harari | Twitter
- Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology, by Eric Brende*
Production Notes
This was produced by me, James Walters, as a personal project to help stop climate change by inspiring others to grow, eat, and live sustainably.
Any advice given is the opinion of those involved and does not constitute medical, financial, or legal advice.
* We include links we think you will find useful. If you buy through those links, we may earn a small commission. It’s one way to support our work and to inspire as many people as possible.