I view technology as a paradoxical phenomenon which already got out of human control without us realizing it. Presumably, it made many of our life aspects, such as communication, transportation, education, easier and more convenient. However, if one was to calculate the costs of technological development at a speed it has been occurring, especially intangible costs, then I believe we would find ourselves at a loss.

I must admit that I do rejoice the convenience brought by technological development, specifically when it comes to communication. Being able to talk to or follow the lives of the dear ones who are physically far away is the advantage I cannot underestimate. However, technology and technologically-advanced communication while being forceful are still lifeless. Just like with the invention of writing people lost ability to memorize well, with technology we are losing our ability to be present and connected (connected to actual reality, not the virtual one).

Even though I would not call myself a Luddite, both my body and my mind reject the intervention of technology into my personal life and the life of the society. What I constantly observe is an addiction to technological devices and the unlimited non-stop communication that they made possible. A lot of the times I am myself staying in a technological cage, waiting for a dose of virtual communication, which successfully manipulates my emotional state. Yet, I am able to recognize that this is a cage, and that somehow technological devices as well as the process of virtual communication exhaust me, taking away my connection with the world around and limiting my ability to communicate with it using my natural senses.

No wonder the happiest moments of my day are the ones when there is no phone or laptop around, but rather someone sitting next to me, present in this very moment (hopefully not partially on snapchat or instagram). At these moments communication with people and the world around occurs without a medium but with the actual senses. As Miller argues, “the larger the number of senses involved, the better the chance of transmitting a reliable copy of the sender’s mental state” (48). With technology humans no longer feel the need to have these senses as the medium perfectly replaces them. This, I believe, consequently leads to a loss of a precious ability to sense, making humans crave for a technology-created sensations.