Does Technology really make us Unhappy?

[Banefull]

On these boards, I see many fingers pointed at technology claiming that it is a human vice. I see many people here claim, “Technology makes us unhappy” but is it really technology that is the source of so much unhappiness with modern society or have we perhaps missed the mark?

According to various surveys and studies, human happiness has steadily risen in the United States with a peak in the late 1950s but steadily declined afterwards. If technology is really the source of all of our unhappiness, we would expect to see happiness continually decrease since ancient times but that apparently is not the case. So what really did happen? I think the source of our unhappiness with modern society stems from a recent shift in our mindset – the rise of consumerism.



Consumerism is a new social order in which the economy is increasing reliant upon individuals purchasing more and more goods. The more goods that are being bought and sold, the better off the economy is and in turn, the “better off we are.” But if I have more, am I really better off? Companies would like you to believe that. If I own ten pairs of shoes, am I any “better off” than an individual single pair of shoes? We both can walk without having to worry about blisters or cuts on our feet. Our physical needs are satisfied but we still keep purchasing new and useless things because we have come to believe that these latest and greatest products will provide for us in other ways – that they will make us happy.



Long ago, advertisers followed the concept of marketing products based upon their utility. This reflected the general idea of the time that humans responded best to rational arguments; however, advertising’s focus has shifted recently to paint products as giving or providing happiness. The ways they do it are very subtle. They do not come out and say directly but they hint at certain things. For ex: If you do not buy your family this product for Christmas, then you do not love them (making you unhappy as a result). If they ever came out and said that openly like this satirical poster above me, we would never buy into it so they cleverly disguise it.



One has to wonder whether a bottle of coke really makes your relationship any better. Personally, if I had a relationship in which a bottle of coke was the deciding factor, then I should probably be scrambling to get out of it.

Not only do companies produce goods and services, but now they decide for you what you will buy. We have come to expect the media to “guide” us. Everyone wants that fancy pair of shoes, fast car, or large house because some advertisement or endorsement said so.

We are chasing a dream. We buy the latest goods because there is always something “more.” If you ever do manage to reach the point of “living the good life” the crash happens. There is nothing left to chase. After years of chasing what the media fed to them, they are finally free and all of a sudden find themselves without a goal or purpose in life. They cease to live spiritually.

We are chasing the prized GDP value. The more buying, the more selling, the better. The products that we really do need are no longer made to last. If your poorly made toaster breaks and you have to buy a new one, the GDP goes up. They also try to get us buy things we do not need and it is all in the name of economic growth. We have supposedly advanced technologically but that is not reflected in the way we live. We still work long eight or twelve hour shifts a day not because we have to in order to live comfortably but because we feel that we need more goods to live comfortably.

We are chasing perfection. We chase perfection as defined by some media outlet and not our own definition. We let others decide for us what we should buy, what is enjoyable, and who is beautiful. The last case especially is very appalling. I think some of the so called “supermodels” are absolutely hideous. If you ever pay attention to the subtleties of the ads, most of their bodies are anatomically impossible. They do not even exist as real people.

Overall I like technology. I like having a pair of shoes so that I can walk without worrying about cuts to my feet, I like medicine that keeps me healthy, I like cars that get me to places, but I do not like having twenty pairs of shoes for the sake of looking fancy, being hooked up to tubes just so I can live for another five hours, or having to buy a new car because its in fashion. In my opinion, a lot of the people who say that technology is bad for us yearn for a world where the “human element” returns. Technology is not the culprit but rather our attitude towards material possessions.