Is Technology Really Making Us Lazy?

September 9, 2020.

With twenty-four hours in a day, how many hours do you really have?  Typically, people go to work/school for eight hours a day.  Doing so leaves us with about sixteen hours.  Now what about sleep?  I typically get about seven hours of sleep every night, which would leave me with nine hours throughout my day.  One hour devoted to getting ready in the morning and another at night, two hours for eating during the day, and an hour for traveling to work/school/events, which leaves you with about four hours a day.  Considering I am not including many other factors, this does not leave much time for other activities.  So, what is one way to be able to get the most done during the little amount of time you have? One word, technology.  In this paper, I am going to explain why the advancement of technology has not made people lazier, but in fact, the exact opposite.

Ever since the discovery of fire, new advancements to improve the way of living have been invented, all of which have changed future generations.  The light bulb, the refrigerator, the telephone, and the radio, are all examples of inventions that completely allowed people to change the way they lived before; however, many people wonder, is it for the better, or for worse?  With the creation of the telephone and radio, it allowed ordinary people to be able to communicate across long distances (Fischer, 1992, p. 4).  The question, "does the telephone make men more active or more lazy,” was questioned by the Knights of Columbus Adult Education Committee ((Fischer, 1992, p. 1).  The telephone does not make individuals lazier, in fact, it does the exact opposite.  Being able to have multiple conversations quickly in a day, allows people to spend their time doing other things (leaving them with more time to be productive).  The saying, “work smarter, not harder” has been around for a long time, which it applies to the telephone, and technology.  Being able to speed up the process of talking to someone does not mean you’re being lazy; from anything, you’re using your time more efficiently because you’re spending your time wisely.  Just because you do not have to travel to have a conversation anymore, inspires the question, why do people see it as being lazy and less productive?

When people think about technology making people lazy, they always look at how it is changing children.  The reminiscent thought of “playing outside” is an often ideal that generations hold onto.  When they think of their childhood, it always goes back to playing outside.  I can recall my mom stating, “back in my day, we would be outside all day until the porch light came on, which signaled dinner is ready;” however, why is playing outside so special?  Why does playing inside make you lazy?  Why does video games correlate with rotting your brain away and being lazy?  If you are stimulating your brain by learning new things, why does it make you lazy?  These questions led me to realize we are not lazy because of technology.  Instead, it would seem that past generations just can’t give up on the idea that life is not the same anymore.  You could be outside all day yet not do anything productive.  Would this make you lazy?  Now, what if you are inside all day and play video games?  Considering “most of today’s kids learn more from their 30 to 100 hour video and computer games than they do in school (Prensky, 2004, p. 14),” if you aren’t outside being active, does this make you lazy, or are we just changing the meaning of the word lazy?  It seems as if people think the word “lazy,” means that you are not being active.  Just because technology makes tasks easier to complete, that does not mean you are doing less.  It just is faster to do the task.

The advancement of technology has encouraged thousands of individuals to be creative, not only physically, but mentally as well.  Social media platforms like YouTube and Tik Tok have all created a space where people can make videos to entertain an audience.  These platforms are free to use and have opened a can of worms in terms of changing the world we live in.  Content creators on these platforms do many different things, from teaching people how to cook, to learning how to dance, to making funny videos, etc.  Without these platforms, individuals would not be able to create amateur videos, which have helped people express themselves in many different ways.  Not only are you able to watch videos created from people all over the world, but you can also interact with these people too.  Prior to now, this type of social technology has encouraged people to not only make entertaining videos, but to also learn new and possibly enjoyable theatrical endeavors.

In conclusion, I believe that there are misconceptions about the term “lazy”.  An individual can be mentally lazy, physically lazy, or sadly, both.  Regardless of whether their laziness stems from a lack of mental or physical stimulation can be debated. To assume that technology has impeded on a person’s ability to integrate mental and physical activities is just plain wrong.  Clearly, the Peloton system and other advanced exercise simulators give anyone the ability to merge tech and health into the same environment.  The same can be said for gaming systems that involve physical movement for interaction.  As stated above, the word “lazy” can no longer be defined as simply laying on the couch watching television, when today’s technology allows for exercise for both the mind and the body.

Works Cited

Fischer, S. Claude. (1992). America calling a social history of the telephone to 1940 (pp. 1-192). University of California Press. https://rowan.instructure.com/courses/2969359/files?preview=172970149

Prensky, M. (2004). What kids learn that's positive from playing video games (pp. 1-15). Simon Fraser University, Surrey Campus Library.  https://marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20What%20Kids%20Learn%20Thats%20POSITIVE%20From%20Playing%20Video%20Games.pdf