Technology making us lazy...

I am not the first to say this, nor the last, but technology is making us lazy. Who wants to read a 2 page article from NYT when you can simply go on to the BBC and read the same article but in 1,000 less words (ok, over exaggerating), or merely go to Twitter and in 140 characters or less! Our attention span is probably shrinking, but at least we pay attention to some things. And if you do not feel like reading an entire article, skimming the first 2 paragraphs is better than not reading at all. The worst part that I see, and that is little talked about, is the auto-population tactic and the auto-input feature when you search on Google (or any other search engine). Auto-population is great when filling out forms and/or applications, but saving the cookies to your computer could also get you in trouble, especially if your computer falls into the wrong hands or your information is not deleted from a publicly used computer. [I do not need to mention storing user names and passwords on computers and the risks this leads, but it could also make you forget your password and have to keep changing it - so inconvenient!].

The auto-search function is great when you are unsure how to word a search or just want to see what pops up after you type in "when I" (it's a fun game, you should try it). But when we know what we are looking for and the search bar auto-populates the letters and words of your search, we just hit "enter" and up pops the hundreds of pages that have some sort of related wording to your search. But will this auto-populated search deter us from typing? It is handy on a smart phone, though smart phones, such as the iPhone and some Android phones already have the talk to text feature, or just voice control over the entire phone. This eliminates the time and energy of us having to find what we are looking for manually. It also saves us typing time. Technology is inevitable, and we can only guess that in a few years down the road some cell phones will be virtually hands-free. The same may go for computers. The software is out there that allows one to speak into a microphone and the computer will automatically type what you say. Automatic. That is the problem. Our world of technology and instantaneous-ness commands shorter attention spans and our desire for more information to reach our fingertips more quickly and with less energy on our part. There is money to be made in this field, but it could also be an indirect factor of America's decline - if America is declining at that. The Developing World has access to this technology but will not employ it the way the America (and the 'West'). The Developing World will also prosper in manufacturing and extracting before becoming service-oriented economies. In the future, if I can just sit on my couch, talk into a microphone and direct my computer to not only write this piece but post it on my blog, how much movement will be perform?

(By the way, I am a fan of NYT and BBC).