Reviving Human Intellect in the Digital Age
In the early twentieth century, we realized how the automobile was capable of significantly reducing the travel time between two places when compared to animal-powered vehicles. A few decades later, there were cars everywhere. And such ease of mobility meant that remote areas and main cities could be interconnected via a network of roads, which facilitated the widespread exchange of ideas, language, culture and brought enormous business opportunities.
Clearly, innovation and prosperity have always followed whenever we have discovered the potential in an incredible piece of technology. However, we also have had the tendency to over-innovate to the point of redundancy, that is, a point when technology actually became a problem rather than being useful. Consider, for instance, the huge challenge that we face today to safely dispose millions of tonnes of toxic electronic waste that is generated every year. Because there is such a high demand for the latest electronic devices and appliances, even the slightly older ones with not so different features are discarded well before their shelf life, making e-waste a dangerous consequence of over-innovation.
As a species placed at the top of the evolutionary ladder, we have always been able to rely upon our intellect to adapt and thrive in the most adverse of conditions. We have progressed a lot by learning from our surroundings and from our mistakes. Our intellect has allowed us to continuously push boundaries of what we can accomplish. It has given us the courage to overcome obstacles and think unconventionally, whether it is building entire cities in the desert lands or considering the possibility of populating the moon and Mars. It has played a crucial role in our evolution in science, technology, creativity and as a society in general. But in this Digital Age, human intellect has become widely underrated. Ours is a time when the ease of global connectivity is at its highest. Everything from cell phones, watches and TVs to our cars, homes and workplaces etc. has become smarter, with the aim of making our daily lives more convenient and comfortable. In fact, if we say that we are the most comfortable generation so far, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
So why is human intellect struggling to preserve its relevance?
In the current scenario, the problem lies with our reliance on technology (particularly, the Internet) to such extent that we prefer it over our own intellect.
The Internet has aided us in creating a virtual universe in which humans are the only inhabitants and communication is possible through words, images and sound without ever having the need to be physically present.
Now it may be fun to imagine such a universe. In fact, it may turn out to be a fantastic fictional novel. But such a 'human-only virtual ecosystem' becomes far less amusing when we realise how we are increasingly identifying with our virtual personas. Having a virtual identity is worthy only as long we are aware of the purpose for which it is meant. But if we are constantly preoccupied in cultivating something that is temporary and superficial, then sooner or later it is bound to make it more difficult for us to focus upon or accept the real attributes of our personality. For instance, a majority of people, especially teenagers and millennials, aren’t happy with their physical appearance. They are anxious all the time about how they are perceived by others. They are wasting away their energies trying to live up to ridiculous standards that they have set for themselves just to get a few seconds of gratification, even if it jeopardizes their physical and mental health. The Internet has narrowed their sense of accomplishment to the no. of likes and retweets they get on social media platforms even though every such accomplishment does nothing but gradually feed their Ego. It has caused their notions of success and happiness to become shallow and limited to the materialistic well-being. It is surprising to see how a lot of us can so easily overlook the quality of our virtual peers and acquaintances, how we can blindly depend upon our ‘followers’ and smartphone apps to gain these micro-seconds of joy that we mistake as happiness.
Although having access to a large number of avenues for socialising and knowing about the world has been useful, but we cannot deny that it also has made us more insecure and judgemental. Owing to the anonymity provided by the internet, there is a surging tendency to comment and react on every single occurrence and even spread hate or incite violence in society. There is a constant desire (or rather a rat-race) to be updated with the latest news and information because of the fear of being left behind. Though most of the time, we are just scrolling and skimming through headlines instead of reading and comprehending. The phrase 'News Feed' is a clear indication that we 'consume' more and more information every day but hardly stop to reflect and contemplate over it, to make sense of it. Quite frankly, we are nurturing opinions instead of wisdom.
The negative impact of technology is most visible on the impressionable minds of youngsters who have grown up in the tech-dominated 21st century and have never witnessed the glory of the pre-internet days. Today, a disturbingly large number of kids suffer from problems such as procrastination, shorter attention spans, stress, anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia and even depression – which have been widely linked to internet addiction. It is interfering with their natural process of creativity and self-exploration from a very early age. They don’t seem to have the patience or time that is required while learning something new, despite having more resources than ever. The outreach of platforms that enrich their knowledge base, promote constructive discussions and expand the horizons of their mind, is small. As a result, the lack of original thoughts and ideas is slowing down their growth and development.
When we put our trust in artificial algorithms instead of our own brain to make critical decisions, it takes a toll on our level of self-awareness. We are so deeply engrossed in the matters of the outside world that we have no clue about what’s happening within – how our reliance on technology has influenced our way of thinking and how it has diluted our confidence in our own abilities as human beings. Somehow, we have managed to turn this miracle of technology into a tool for moral and intellectual degradation.
Denouncing isn’t the Solution. Balance is.
The best way to discover the advantages as well as flaws of a machine is to be mindful while operating it. The same is true for our intellect. It is like a muscle in the body. The more we exercise it, the better it will function and the quicker we shall overcome its limitations. We have to be clear that our ignorance towards using the internet in the right manner is the actual problem and not the internet itself. Therefore, eliminating it from our daily lives is definitely not a practical approach towards resolving the various issues which arise due to it. A more progressive path (and perhaps the only feasible one) is to establish and maintain a certain balance. Thus, real innovation and prosperity follow only when human intellect and technology complement each other.
