Technology: Yay or Nay?

As society advances, so does the technology embedded throughout our daily lives. It is an inevitable aspect of our reality. Technology will continue to be implemented. That said, I have a mixed relationship with technology. On the one hand, I love it and cannot imagine life without it. As I have mentioned, society relies on technology daily. 

From an academic standpoint, it makes my life a lot easier. For instance, I use many apps or sites daily/weekly (Google Docs, Grammarly, Zoom, Canva, Google Chrome, UR courses, YouTube, etc.). These apps are regularly used and help me stay organized throughout university. I couldn’t imagine how much longer it would take me to complete tasks or take notes if I had to write them all out by hand. 

On the contrary, the relationship becomes more rocky when I think about using technology in my personal life. I tend to do regular detoxes from apps because I will spend too much time on them, and I do not like it when I feel my productivity is being hindered because I am spending too much time on my phone mindlessly scrolling. Typically, this occurs when I use the apps Instagram or Snapchat. It can be so easy to get caught down the rabbit hole. I tried using the whole screen time limits thing, but that never worked because I just kept hitting remind me later or disregarded the limit altogether. That said, it is really like anything else in life. Moderation is key. 

My favourite apps on my phone are Spotify and Pinterest. I am always listening to a podcast. I will list some of my favourite podcasts below! Pinterest is just amazing all around. I use it for recipes, outfit inspiration, classroom ideas, and really anything I do. It is like a digital vision board, and I love it.

Overall, technology will keep advancing, so it is important that I set boundaries and be mindful of how it makes me feel and impacts my life. I find that detoxing from apps that consume too much of my time and energy has worked best for me. I have not had Instagram since April and have found the break enjoyable.  I have more energy, and my productivity has been piqued. I find that I spend more time on the things that matter to me, which is a bonus!  That said, not everyone needs to go that extreme of a measure to reduce the time spent on the app.

I listened to a podcast about two years ago that shifted my mindset toward technology. I can’t remember how it went; unfortunately, I cannot find the episode again either. Basically, I used to think that technology was ruining the world and was consumed by all the negative aspects of technology. Until I listened to this podcast, it allowed me to switch my perspective. I now think about technology as a tool. Ultimately, it is not the technology that is bad. It is how you use it, and that is when it can become destructive.

To end on a positive, below are my favourite podcasts to listen to!

Self-Growth:

https://open.spotify.com/show/5EqqB52m2bsr4k1Ii7sStc?si=cb6268f7bdd04d46

https://open.spotify.com/show/706hylM6zaDW8LrrYxcggQ?si=3244428843fd4c05

https://open.spotify.com/show/7vz4RYsD5MulTCrcH478t1?si=6b56998c3d974450

Girl Talk: 

https://open.spotify.com/show/2wZndsrC3t0blC7tc12VEe?si=6fcf9bcbee294f9f

Teaching:

https://open.spotify.com/show/5tqAQKltFrAi05Rc4Js5hb?si=386e962cfdca41f2

Entertainment: One of my all-time faves!!

https://open.spotify.com/show/3DgfoleqaW61T2amZQKINx?si=a1e641ada41c4ead