Stuart’s Thoughts 2/6/2019

The Down Side of Progress (Revisited)

Technological advances have led to a current life style with advantages that were, at best, only hinted at when my generation grew up in the 1940s and early 1950s. Home entertainment at that time revolved around the radio and the Victrola.  Television was only a vague conceptual dream and, of course, the personal computer and internet were totally unknown. We had a hint of the eventual coming of the cell phone in Dick Tracy’s comic book wrist radio.  The list goes on and on of items which enhance our lives that didn’t exist when I was a child.  However, as beneficial as all of this “new” technology is, we are learning that each has an associated “down side.

My first comments on this subject were made a year and a half ago (Stuart’s Thoughts - “The Down Side of Progress, 9/15/2017).  Those comments were prompted by observations I made of symposium attendee activity during a break at the NC State McKimmon Center.  I was struck by the glaring difference between their collective behavior and what I had been used to at symposium breaks during my active years in research prior to the proliferation of cell phones.  At that 2017 symposium break, people were primarily off individually peering into their hands holding cell phones.  That picture was in sharp contrast to the typical pre-cell phone symposium break scene.  In those earlier times, people would gather in groups for discussions of topics of mutual interest, primarily related to the symposium presentations.  They were great opportunities to meet other researchers with mutual  interests and often led to the formation of new friendships.  That pointed contrast in behaviors immediately struck me as a negative consequence of the cell phone, a definite down side of progress.

Having worked in pharmaceutical research, one thing was perfectly clear.  Any advance in the development of new pharmaceuticals had the potential for both beneficial and harmful effects in humans.  In most cases, the incidence of harmful effects, i.e., side effects or adverse effects, could be mitigated by careful selection of dose and other recommended use parameters.  It seems that this same advice is appropriate for other examples of technological advance.  With proper use, they are essentially safe and beneficial.  However, with misuse, the can be harmful and even lethal.  We only have to look at the automobile to see the truth of this concept.  All of our lives have benefited from the invention of the automobile.  In fact,  it is often essential to the livelihood of many.  However, we all know how lethal it can become if misused,  In 2017, there were more than 40,000 deaths in the U.S. related to motor vehicles.
In considering modern electronic technology,  cell phone use (mostly texting) while driving has recently been implicated in about 25% of vehicle accidents and more than three thousand accidental deaths. 

 

Vehicle deaths may well be the most problematic down side of cell phone use.  However, a recent book “Disconnected” by Thomas J. Kersting vividly paints a disturbing picture of how cell phone use by children is creating a generation of “disconnected” individuals who are becoming increasingly isolated and functionally unable to interact “face to face”with others.  While they are disconnected from direct interactions with other humans, they are becoming connected electronically to that little hand-held device.  As a high school councilor, Kersting is encountering an increasing number of young people who cannot successfully talk to others face to face and consequentially, total fail when they are faced with an interview.  This clearly is an adverse event associated with the cell phone and Mr. Kersting’s observations are not the only ones regarding this situation.  More and more studies are appearing adding to this body of evidence and extending the list of cell phone adverse events.

Without going into detail here, many of us have heard of tragedies associated with internet/Facebook use.  Children led astray by predators of various sorts and, in some tragic cases, suicides resulting from electronic  bullying are topics worthy of serious study.  However, my exploration of these adverse events associated with technological progress will be reserved for another time.  I only mention them here because they also play key roles in my comments concerning the current wave of negativity that has swept our nation in recent years. For anyone interested, please see my recent (1/26/2019) post  “2019 - Possibilities and Threats”, J.Stuart.Fleming.blogspot.