New technology is constantly being introduced with the promises of simplifying and improving our lives, however, too much of it can ironically end up only complicating it.

Now that we are connected to the internet 24 hours a day, we are constantly being interrupted by beeps and notifications. Not only for important things, but also the most mundane and unimportant tidbits of information. Internet addiction is a serious problem in our world today, and advocates are fighting for its classification as a psychological disorder.

Like any other addiction, it may seem to enrich or improve your life in the short term, but it’s ultimately harmful and counter-productive in the long term. I am a early adopter of many technologies but after using it for a while I ask myself if this is really making my life better in the long run, and if not, I get rid of it. I urge discretion when introducing new technologies into your life, and moderation for the ones you decide to keep.

As much as technology has served us, we need to make sure to use it selectively and in moderation. There are several ways technology can be leveraged against itself to truly simplify our lives or automate and remove some of these technological distractions. These are the technologies we should be focusing on. Not those that give us a temporary high or distract us from the real world, but those that truly enrich and improve us as people.

Technology is moving a lot faster than humans are able to adapt to it, and the gap is only getting bigger. We need to remember what truly makes us human and hold onto and nurture these deep social qualities before we all end up being mindless anti-social drones.

I can’t help but fear the future of humankind will be similar to this scene from Wall-E where humans are depicted as complacent and out of shape, and they rely on these automated advanced technologies to move them and feed them while they’re busy living their lives within their tiny screens. Let’s make sure this doesn’t happen.

The internet is seen as this eye-opening and world connecting experience, but in many cases it narrows your view through a small LCD window into what is actually happening around you. What makes humans so awesome is the fact that we can build and use tools to better ourselves, but what is even more awesome is that we can think rationally about the effect these tools are having on ourselves and our society, and choose which ones are truly important.