The truth is that I couldn’t imagine a world where technology didn’t act as our second brains. And when I think of how my parents grew up without such conveniences, I shudder. Of course, they say that you can’t miss what you don’t have in the first place. When I think of how life would be like without Google and apps that recommend restaurants and services, I think of myself in a mental institution.
Sometimes I have a really hard time deciding what to order at a restaurant. Even if it’s fast-food. I have a hard time deciding what new phone to choose. But I know I’m not alone. Studies have shown that it is difficult to make a decision when so many options are presented to consumers. So the fact that I can easily read a review on CNET for a product is really comforting. Or that there are dozens of people sharing the same grievances of a small fit for my new Crocs flats.
The answers to all of our questions are simply a “Google” away. We no longer have to go to the library and conduct extensive research. Anyone can be a genius now as long as they have internet access. Hell, Google even serves therapeutic purposes. Relationship problems? Type your question into Google. Because surely, you’re not the only one who has asked before and you’ll find a world out there with different opinions on your very specific question. It’s almost creepy how much Google knows about its users and how it predicts what you want to search. But that’s what makes them so innovative and at the very top of their game in our ever evolving age of technology.
Where would we be if we didn’t have applications and websites to decide for us? Would the world become paralyzed, being struck with so many options and no ability to communicate with other consumers via the internet? Likely so. A world without such technologies would definitely be affected, in ways that we probably cannot predict at the moment. But how about if these decision-making technologies and Google never developed? The truth is: we would survive. We would survive because like my parents, we couldn’t exactly miss what we never had in the first place.
When I analyze how much of a role technology has in my life, it makes me sad that I’ve become so dependent in some ways. But we’re all dependent if we own a smart phone, use the internet, or any other “smart” piece of technology. So I am not alone. And in the meanwhile, I will rejoice in my decision-making technologies and share my mind with them.