Can Technology Save Us…From Technology?

It dings, it rings, it chirps, it beeps, and sometimes it vibrates.  It’s your phone.  Much like Pavlov’s experiments with behavioral modification, the second our mobile devices do anything we as consumers have a trained response.  Whether driving, working, walking, dining, or having a face to face conversation with an actual human being, our mobile devices are a tolerated interruption.

Companies like Microsoft have noticed this trend and have attempted to solve the issue through the use of technology with their Windows Phone and its clever tagline “A phone to save us from our phone”.  Although unsuccessful at saving us from our phones, and consequently failing in the mobile market, the intentions of the Windows Phone were good, but good intentions don’t solve problems.

A popular trend now with hotel and resort vacations is literal vacation from technology.  Some hotels have even asked that consumers sign a contract prior to handing over their smart devices that states that they agree to go without for the duration of their stay.  When did our mobile devices become the digital equivalent to cigarettes?

Perhaps it due to the fact that never in the history of mankind have we had so much power at fingertips, anywhere we want, anytime we want to use it.  The challenge going forward will be for developers and communicators to create products and services that will truly free us from our devices and break our addiction.  Rather than our lives being digital, digital would tailored as a tool to enhance our analog lives.  Clear and no nonsense apps such as Clear from Realmac Software aims is a step in the right direction.  It rethinks the classic to do list and simplifies it down to its bare essentials.  It’s beautiful.  More and more, we will see this simplification present itself in our digital communications with consumers as they seek out simplicity in their lives.  Let’s face it, who really wants to spend their day reading emails and checking every 15 minutes for new messages.