So I’m sitting there watching the NBC Nightly News the other night and up pops a segment about the problems being created by our technology addiction in – of all places – our national parks. Just about everybody who visits a park these days comes equipped with every digital gizmo and app imaginable. This of course, lets them record the wonders of nature (one guy was shown taking still and video pictures at the same time), text their “oohs and ahhhhs” at said wonders to their best friend a thousand miles away, and yak on the phone while at the same time “communing” with nature. (A form of multi-tasking?)
Sadly though, all this technology also seems to be making us stupid, or lazy or both.
Seems that the ability to call anyone, anywhere, at just about any time, even from the “wilderness” has become a substitute for good old-fashioned common sense. Way back when, an emergency call meant just that…an actual emergency. Before the convenience of cell phones, an injured hiker needed somebody in his party to hike back to the nearest phone to call for help. Before setting out on a wilderness “adventure”, the outdoorsy types knew to make plans, let others know where they were going to be, sign in at the trail register, and had the proper equipment to survive a night or two in the woods. Most importantly, because of the effort involved, hikers certainly didn’t call in to complain about every little inconvenience or discomfort. A call to ranger HQ meant the situation was serious.
Not so today. The NBC report mentioned one “emergency” call about – are you ready? – bad-tasting water. Similarly, an article in the September-October issue of Adirondack Life magazine tells us about a guy from Cleveland, Ohio who – in November 2003 – triggered his personal locator device after a three-day Adirondack snowstorm and was airlifted out. He returned to the area later that month to retrieve his camping equipment, but his clothes and boots got soaked again so he simply pushed the button for another airlift home. This time, however, he was charged with two counts of falsely reporting an incident. His misuse of the technology earned him a night in jail.
The same article discussed the growing number of people who enter the woods with a false sense of security simply because they have a cell phone with them. They forget that in rugged terrain, cell service may be spotty at best and there are no charging stations along the trail. Still, off they go on their adventures, poorly prepared and equipped, no map, no compass, no food and no idea when the sun goes down. According to a DEC ranger quoted in the article, “…they just feel that they can push their personal locator beacon…and someone will just fall out of the sky and bring them home.”
So what does this have to do with simplicity? Simple living advocates restoring our connection with nature, of redeveloping our awareness of the world around us and our place in it. I’ve written before that we are a part of nature, not apart from it. This over reliance on technology instead of our brains, wits and resourcefulness (not to mention common sense and critical thinking skills) is yet another indication of how out of touch we are with the natural world.
Is it any wonder we can’t seem to take our environmental crises seriously, when so many people rely on this “technology will save me” mentality?
