Technology is on a spectrum. There is good tech. There is bad tech. And then there is tech that’s neither good nor bad, but merely reflects its user’s intensions.
I’ve recently finished reading Mark Manson’s book, “Everything is Fucked: A Book About Hope”, and watched “The Social Network” and found both of them inspirational but for different reasons.
Mark’s book talks about people having two sets of brains: a logical thinking brain that says stuff like ‘eat healthy, exercise more, live longer’, and a feeling brain that says stuff like ‘relax, you deserve it’, or ‘you can start exercising tomorrow – one day makes no difference’.
Everything that ever sells well in the world appeals to the feeling brain: fast food (fill tummy now), fast cars (flashy / showy), flashy houses in the right suburb.
All of these are pitched, and sell well, because they appeal to the feeling mind.
The thinking mind has a different view of the world: prepare your food at home and eat healthy, drive the Prius, or walk to work, buy the house that fits the size of your lifestyle.
Most government policy aims at the thinking brain, but most successful products pitch to the feeling brain.
FACEBOOK = BAD TECH
Mark makes the point that lots of tech now-a-days is about distraction: games on cell phones, apple ear-buds, watches that show you your emails. None of these “innovations” are needed – they’re all distractions designed to appeal to your feeling brain and, well, in Mark’s view, distract you from all the pain you suffer in the normal course of your everyday life.
Watching The Social Network, I can’t help but agree with him. God! What a massive waste of time that application can be! Even worse when its pre-loaded on cell-phones and can’t be removed (shades of Microsoft’s old operating system techniques).
The thing about it though, is that its made Mark Zuckerberg the 5th wealthist man in the world in the space of just over a decade.
Facebook has its positive aspects: I recently signed up to it to access the Tour of Aotearoa community, who proved invaluable.
But all of its other features: relationship status to identify ellegibility; its persistent notifications are nothing but pure distraction.
Bad tech – but completely explained in a Manson Feeling Brain framework.
So what’s “Good Tech”? Things that advance humanity, improve lives, or positively impact on the world.
For example: