Technology may be making our lives easier, but is it also making us lazier?
Has technology made us lazy?
I think most of us would agree that a century or more ago, men and women were physically stronger than us. The men toiled in the fields or manufacturing plants. The women who were, for the most part, relegated to home and raising children certainly toiled there.
I remember, as a young girl, watching my mom use a washing machine in the basement of our home. I think the tub itself was electric, but she had to run each item through a wringer by hand cranking a handle. Mom had a coal stove in the old farmhouse that she used for cooking. She butchered her own chickens in the yard. Her old Kirby vacuum must have weighed 30 pounds!
No doubt their lifespan was less than ours. Modern medicine has given us a 30-year advantage in the past 100 years, but I still say we’re not as strong. We have to go to a gym to make up for our technologically advanced lifestyle.
Just think about the things we take for granted. Garage door openers come to mind first. What a wonderful invention to keep us seated in our cars and not performing an overhead press several times a day! TV remotes keep us in our chairs today, although, as I remember, my dad called on me for that service when I was growing up.
It’s so funny that I have a smartwatch that has to tell me to stand up periodically. We don’t even have to get up to answer the phone — it’s usually glued to our side. A riding lawn mower is a luxury that most people have today. Elevators and push-button electric doors are everywhere.
We can go shopping in front of our computers and have everything delivered to our door. As a recent tech headline read, “Make millions from bed.” You can do business while you’re sleeping. We now have rearview cameras on our cars, so we need Yoga classes to stretch our necks.
Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy all of these conveniences.
In 1990, the American Disability Act was passed to make many accommodations a reality for citizens who really need these advantages. That’s why you never park in a handicapped parking spot unless you need it. But we need to think about making our everyday life part of our effort to stay strong and agile.
Why not take the stairs on occasion? Don’t push the button for the electric door when you can open it with your own forearms. Go do some shopping and walk an extra circle around the store. Don’t look for the closest parking spot, but park in the back of the lot and get in a few extra steps.
I’ve seen people spar for a close-up parking spot at the gym, only to go in and walk on the treadmill!
Talk about being lazy — I just asked a Chatbot for a quote that would convey this message. Artificial intelligence instantaneously answered with a quote from an unknown author, “Convenience and ease are a disease.”
Pretty good, huh?
Find Connie’s book, “Daily Cures: Wisdom for Healthy Aging,” at www.justnowoldenough.com.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Technology may make our lives easier, but is it also making us lazier?
