But you did walk into a thread of people feeling good about getting motivated to be more active because of the watch, and throw a wet blanket over our enjoyment. It's not on the same level as purposefully insulting a minority, but I find it hard to believe that you didn't know posting that opinion in this thread might make people upset.
As for technology reliance, I don't worry too much about that, because I think humans are pretty adaptable. For instance, when there was a blackout some time ago, our neighborhood groceries quickly gave out ice creams and other perishable foods, people set up chairs in front of their buildings and sat outside so people coming home from work would feel safe while walking in the dark, and we all figured out alternate ways to spend the evening without TV or computers to entertain us. Had the blackout lasted longer, I'm sure we all would have adapted somehow. I sometimes wonder at the fact that my friend's kids have never had to brush their teeth by hand. having had electric toothbrushes their whole life. But I'm sure if need be, they could learn to brush their teeth manually in five minutes. So I just take advantage of whatever technology is available, and don't spend time being depressed over how convenient all this technology is.
NOTE: This is a long reply...I make no apologies for it...but it seems only fair to preface with a "caveat emptor"...
Honestly...I had thought that it might make some people think about whether they actually needed the gadget to be motivated...about whether the achievement of actually doing it, and any associated health benefits, might be enough rather than the need to compulsively "close the rings"...about whether a well-meaning family member, or friend, suggesting that perhaps they could do with exercising more could actually be a better motivation than being informed by a piece of tech that you haven't completed your assigned exercise for the day.
For me, that sets an uncomfortable precedent in two ways; the first of which we have been discussing (that of personality responsibility vs. "the nudge") and the second of which is simply the conditioning to accept what we are fed by technology as being unarguable and creating borderline Pavlovian responses. Note that I don't actually believe we are THERE yet on the second, but things like this
will drip-feed those kinds of responses in many. I didn't mention that until now because the issue being discussed was that of motivation...and I was weighing in on whether or not we should rely on technology for our motivation...that was all.
Could I have taken a more softly, softly approach? Of course. Could I have considered the possibility that my brusqueness might upset some people? I could have. But as I have already explained...I am tired of second-guessing every word that I "say" in case somebody takes offence...it is mentally and philosophically draining! Anyway, to return to your secondary point...
And you make a good point about technology reliance...but also, perhaps inadvertently, a worrying one. While I completely understand and take heart in your story about the blackout...it seems like people did actually adapt...it is the almost offhand comment about your friend's kids that troubles me. As it stands, you all adapted because you remembered
how to. Human beings
are very adaptable...but we can only adapt into things that we know how to do. As you say, while your friend's kids
could learn how to manually brush teeth in five minutes...they haven't. And if they never do...well then their kids will most likely never learn. And it won't take too long until that knowledge is resigned to the history books!
Hardly culture-threatening I grant you! But it is the point that yes, currently, we are able to adapt because there are enough of us that survived and prospered pre-technology-overload so we know how to do things in the event that the tech fails. For example, my own son looked on in wonder as I changed a light fitting recently...as if what I was doing was alchemy when it was simple DIY. So the longer the reliance on technology goes on, the less chance we have of being able to adapt into situations without technology because that knowledge will simply be if not "lost" then certainly "misplaced".
As another poster here mentioned, they have difficulty remembering things when they go to the store, or remembering birthdays or something similar. Notwithstanding the fact that we can just as easily write a list on a piece of paper for the store, I am reminded of the fact that, pre-mobile phones, most people would be able to tell you the phone numbers of their friends and family members from memory...simply because they had to. Many people now struggle to even remember their own number, because they don't have to. So if we get out of the habit of doing something, if we don't practice it, then our ability to do it atrophies...understandably so!
So, while I personally would love to live an "off the grid" life as I have already stated, I realise that for the vast majority that sounds like a living hell...and that's fine. I do feel, however, that we should try a little harder to retain some of our traditions and mental abilities and not simply endlessly laud all of the convenience benefits of technology...lest we are steering ourselves blindly into a future which is a nightmarish mix of The Matrix and Wall-e!!
However, I will accept that it seems that a substantial majority are more than happy to find only benefits in technology so I will respect their decision, I will not voice my opinion any more on the matter here, and I will leave the conversation to those who wish to discuss the benefits! Thanks to those who did engage in conversation...it was certainly enlightening in many respects!
