Smart Devices Stupid People Syndrome

 

In the last few months I have reduced my use of smart device's and technology in general, in a way I have unplugged to a certain extent, yes I still read the news on my smart phone and carry out the odd Google search, I would call my current interactions with technology as selective. I have varying reasons for this, their is no denying that technology has enhanced modern lives in ways that could never have been imagined. My worries However, run deeper my concern is there's a basic human cost to these great enhancements in technology, I refer to this as "smart devices stupid people syndrome". I do admit its not a very medical term but its the best way to put across a point that individuals are unknowingly eroding there right to privacy and becoming more an more unsocial.

My simple test for this is the next time your out and about the location is unimportant be it the pub, restaurant, train station etc. I want you to do the following, turn off your music, smart watch, phone and any other device that may interrupt this test, find a good visual location and just observe the people around you. Now here is the fun part I want you to count how many people are lost in a device and are oblivious to there current surrounding they are just going through the motions of there day without taking in the world around them.

The ironic thing is that while the individual may not be taking in there surroundings there devices are, they are logging their location, analyzing there search history, identifying trends from social media apps. We now live in a world of big data its the new age where data is power and we are all giving it away so freely. When is the last time you downloaded an application and read the user license agreement (ULA)? For the majority of people the answer is probably never, we blindly agree to thousands of lines of legal agreements so we can use a free app that delivers some innocuous service  that we saw in an add or on social media and decided we couldn't live without, the caveat is nothing in this world is free you are paying with information a level of which has now reached an unprecedented level.

The reaction I normally get when I ask people why they send everything they are doing on Snapchat or why they post their every movement on Facebook, Twitter etc. is normally the candid "sure who cares about me". To which I normally say depends on what you define as "care", if your going away for a weeks holiday post your "check in " online and then track your memories through out your trip, well then robbers care very much that you are not at home and they can get in and out of your home whilst you keep them updated with the latest beach side selfie.

What if an app starts selling your location history enriched with your user details to your insurance company or health provider so they see you read your texts while driving oh and you rarely stay under the speed limit and your most frequented location is the local pub I think they will go out of there way to up your quote or not insure you at all, does that fall under the category of "who cares about you"?

How about a future employer that runs your name through a HR software to find all the inappropriate images and posts and tweets you have built up over the years , like it or not what happens online stays online, forever.  So to answer the above question you should care, because data does not lie so beware because its only a matter of time before you too can catch "smart device stupid people syndrome" you will find its rapidly becoming an epidemic.