A new term that I learned, and love, is the idea of "Technolust", which is defined by Michael Stephens as the "irrational love for new technology combined with unrealistic expectations for the solutions it brings". The indiscriminate implementation of technology without careful consideration of the actual benefits and costs seems to be a result of this technolust, that affects not only some of our comrades in librarianship but also many citizens at large. One might suspect, perhaps rightly so, after reading my initial posts, that I am a technophobe. I admit to even wondering myself, at times, if I simply have an unexplainable aversion to new technology and an extreme reverence for "the good old days" when children played outside after school. Upon further contemplation, I have realized that what I dislike is not technology per se, but the thoughtless and wholesale application of it. Daily, I watch my children gobble it up and swallow it whole, and I admit that this gives me pause. Which is why I love the term technolust, and all that it implies. I appreciate and enjoy, as much as the next guy, applying new technology to simplify my life and to save myself time and energy on tedious yet necessary tasks. I also understand that new technologies can be used in innovative and creative ways to communicate, collaborate, and embrace the global environment in which we live. However, as Stephens goes on to say, "technology is a tool", and in my opinion, is best used as such.
I heard an interesting story on NPR that lead me to ponder this topic further. It's called "Amish Community Not Anti-Technology, Just More Thoughtful", and here is a link to the audio and the transcript of the story:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/09/02/217287028/amish-community-not-anti-technology-just-more-thoughful
References:
Stephens, M. Taming technolust: Ten steps for planning in a 2.0 world. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 47 (4), p. 314-317.
This NPR story about how certain Amish communities embrace technology is an interesting topic to discuss. Technological advances in society can be both beneficial and harmful. For instance, technology can build collaborations between communities that are in different geographical locations. It can also sometimes be harmful in that it can enable people to escape from society through creating a fake internet identity and decreasing real-life in person communication with society.
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