Although technology has made our lives easier, we are losing some critical skills in the process. Four essential skills, including the deficiencies that are emerging, are outlined.
Earlier this week, I listened to an episode of the Tim Ferriss Show, and specifically, his interview with Lisa Ling. For those who might not be aware, Tim Ferriss is the best-selling author the ‘4-hour’ series, among others, an entrepreneur, tech investor and podcaster. Lisa Ling is an award-winning journalist, who currently is the host of This Is Life with Lisa Ling on CNN.
In the interview, Tim delved into Lisa’s personal and professional experience, covering topics such as, what it was like growing up the daughter of immigrants, telling the gritty stories that have been hallmark of her career, and how she maintains balance between her work life from her home life, to name a few. At several points during the course of the interview, Lisa emphasised the effort that she makes to be present in her personal life, and the need for all of us to put down our smartphones, to sit with our thoughts and to engage each other one-on-one.
Although it has been a few days since I listened to the interview, Lisa’s fervent request for all of us to make a concerted effort to disconnect from our electronic devices and interact meaningfully with others, has remained with me. It also had me thinking about skills we might be losing, and for those who are considered digital natives, skills they might never fully develop, all thanks to the convenience of our smartphones and other personal devices. Below are the four that readily came to mind.
1. Handwriting
With all of the typing and texting we tend to do these days, many of us find it easier to type that to write. Occasionally, we might be prepared to jot down a few notes at work, or scribble to to-do list at home, but invariably, we are no longer engaging in long-form writing, such handwriting letters to family and friends. As a result, and for many of us, our handwriting has deteriorated over years, and we perhaps may not even be able to recognise our own handwriting, or to read it.
Although we might be rueful about the extent to which this skill has been usurped by our laptops and smartphones, handwriting helped us to develop our complex motor and cognitive skills as children. As adults, writing engages the brain and helps us fully flesh out our thoughts in ways that typing does not. So it could be argued that in writing less, we are not fully tapping into our creative and innovative natures.
2. Remembering phone numbers and number plates
If you are like me, you can still remember telephone numbers from decades ago, but you cannot remember the numbers for people who currently, you call or text frequently. The same goes for number plates. You may still remember the number plates of vehicles from decades ago with which you were familiar. Today, you may just about remember your own, and may possibly recognise a few others when you see them.
Essentially, we no longer have to make the effort to commit things to memory. However, it also means that losing that skill as well. The question we must therefore ask is, if we do not have access to our phone – the battery is dead, for example – which numbers have we memorised to help us in a pinch?
3. Basic mathematics/arithmetic
On the odd occasion when you have to do a simple tally, such as balancing your cheque book, or preparing a household budget, or to do some simple arithmetic, do you grab a pen and paper, or your smartphone? Although I doubt you have lost your knowledge of basic mathematics, the truth is that many of us never liked it in the first place, and now are woefully out of practice.
Once again, in no longer doing basic mathematics without the aid of calculators and on a regular basis, our mental prowess is weakening. We are losing out on the ways metal arithmetic stimulates the brain, improves logic, and improves our memory and our mental health.
4. Long form reading
Finally, when was the last time you read a book – from cover to cover? Or even an article that was over 2,500 words? In being so inundated with content, ranging from emails and text messages, to posts and tweets, for many of us, our eyes glaze over if an article has more than four paragraphs, or we even abandon reading the article altogether when we realise it might take a bit more time to complete than we had anticipated.
In addition to the knowledge and insight that can be gained, reading books and other long-form content improves our powers of concentration to follow the story and to engage in critical thinking and analysis. Reading also improves our memory, and our ability to focus, in order to absorb and process the material we are reading, and also to recall important elements, as or when needed.
In summary, and without a doubt, humanity has benefitted considerably from the advances that have been made in ICT. Not only has it made our lives easier, it has collapsed geographic boundaries, and has made all of us on Plant Earth more (physically) connected to each other. However, at the same time, perhaps mirroring Newton’s third law of motion – for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction – through this hyper connectivity, content and convenience, some things, and in this case important life and developmental skills, are also being lost.
To a considerable degree, and within our own ambit, we have the power to make conscious decisions with regard to the things we hold dear, including the skills we believe are important for us to continue to nurture. With regard to technology, it does not mean that we need to abandon it, but we can try to give more careful thought about the quality of the life we want to live, and to be a bit more discerning about when, where and how we use technology achieve that outcome.
Image credit: Gerd Altmann (Pixabay)
Technically we are more “electronically” connected than physically. You cant reduce the physics or increase it. I agree with the hand writing aspect but not on the same base argument. Technology is making us writeless (and I probably should write this into an article) but what its mainly doing is allowing us to “avoid” writing at a higher rate.
If, like me, you were terrible at maths, then you wouldn’t suppress a chuckle at the mention of it in this context. Indeed maths is the first to fall off the list in the face of MS Excel and Smartphone calculators. But, in the same vein agreeing, the basic skill is being eroded along with its essential attributes.
And @Owen, I think the key concept is not so much the convenience of “reduced writing rate” but probably that the basic attributes of humanity are being taken away by way of technological expediency.