Is over-dependence on technology proving detrimental to our natural abilities?

In a hi-tech grip

Is over-dependence on technology proving detrimental to our natural abilities?

Shekar (named changed) is a harried lot today. For some reason, he has lost the contacts in his mobile phone and now it is a guessing game for every call or message he receives. Moreover, he does not have a record of his phone book in black and white. Each one of us, at some or the other point of time, have gone though this ordeal. Sometimes, when one opts for a new handset of a different brand and the contacts do not get transferred, one faces this situation. Mobiles are not the only killers. Day by day, dependence on technology is turning out to be detrimental to our natural abilities. Even for simple math, one has to take resort to a calculator, or mobiles. Let someone pose a question to you or ask for a reference, and the first thing one does, or comes to mind is take help of the search engine on the Internet. So, have we today become slaves of technology? Is this overdependence on technology proving detrimental to our natural abilities? Says, no, Ashish Korday, a psychotheriapist. "Why should we utilise our abilities like memory for the things which can be easily done with the help of machines? Once our memory is freed of petty clutter like remembering telephone numbers, the same can be used for much more better and creative purposes. Machines are basically invented only to help humans do daily chores," he said. Recalling an instance, Ashish said it is said that a particular state head had washing machines distributed among people as he wanted them to devote their time in national building and not washing clothes! Also, whenever one wants to do a particular thing manually, he can always get back to the original modus operandi, he said. The youth too echoed the same view. Satyarth Mishra, a 20-year-old journalism student, too came across as a advocate of technological blitzkrieg. Categorising technology users as those who really need it, and those who are a victim of herd mentality, he says this problem is more prevalent with the latter. "When I can easily access tonnes of information online in a jiffy, why should I rely on other time-consuming methods? Also, it is not feasible to memorise scores of numbers we have in our contact lists nowadays. Earlier, the number of phone numbers used to be limited," he said. Technology available or not, I still remember the numbers which I have to." It is always better to concentrate on and encash on the technological benefits, he added. Well, there are voices of dissent too. Sharda S, a banker, says after the advent of Internet and mobiles, it has become difficult for her to keep a track of phone numbers and birthdays of her family and friends. "We have become slaves of technology," she said.