Are Smart Devices Making Us Stupid?

Are Smart Devices Making Us Stupid?

Most adults, teens, and children own or use some kind of device that’s labeled “smart.” Clearly, calling a manufactured device “smart” slipped by the Woke aficionados. Addressing an inanimate object as “smart” is insulting to human beings. Could the message be people who use smart devices are stupid?

Even if there’s no intentional insult, I bet you know a lot of people, and you may even be one, who’ve done some foolish things while using or because of a smart device.

Back in the day, we were more conscious about doing things. For example, watching TV required intentional thought:

1. You walked over to the TV to change stations or adjust the volume.
2. To change the channel from 4 to 11, you’d think about the most efficient direction to turn the nob.
3. You had to figure out the antenna position that got the best reception.

Nowadays, you can use voice commands to change TV channels and volume, turn on your lights, regulate your temperature, hear the weather report, or listen to specific kinds of music. In addition, “smart” washing machines, dryers, ovens, and cars require less thinking. It’s all to make your life simpler.

In truth, all this “smart” stuff is making us simpler-minded. When you don’t have to think, you don’t activate your thinking brain. And, when your thinking brain isn’t active, you lose functionality. Your problem-solving skills become dull, you have less rational thought, and you do less critical thinking. This lull in logic allows the emotional brain to flare up. Now, do you wonder why we’ve become such an emotionally charged society?

Emotions are the antithesis of intellect. Emotions by themselves are irrational, transient, and variable. Intellect by itself is logical, long-standing, and fixed. When one mind is more active than the other, we get off balance, and chaos ensues. Therefore, if we’re thinking less, we’re emoting more.

Unfortunately, emotions that occur without thinking are our natural ones. They include fear, anger, contempt, shame, and guilt. Therefore, we can also say that “smart” devices make us unhappy.

Happiness comes from thinking. We make a conscious choice to have peace. Gratitude, which brings us joy, comes from evaluation and reason. Conscious awareness leads to satisfaction. And contentment is a deliberate commitment. This mindfulness is the smart way to be happy.

We should appreciate the devices that make our lives easier and provide us with entertainment. But remember, human intelligence created those devices, and God created human intelligence. So, don’t rely on someone else’s intelligence to think for you. Instead, activate your brain: Go back to remembering phone numbers, send handwritten notes, talk to each other and make eye contact, limit and structure your time on social media, constantly thank God for what you have and that you can do your own thinking. Be smarter than your “smart” devices and you’ll be happier!