I was recently reading an excerpt from [ THIS ] interview with Yannis Philippakis of Foals who made the very astute point:

“ I’m… relatively fearful for change, or rather the unstoppable nature of change. I quite like being in control of my surroundings. Our generation has seen a massive amount of change, in a very insidious way as well, it’s not like there’s been a clear and demarcated event that’s happened that you can deal with and place your feelings and analyse it. The creep of technology and the way it affects everything like relationships and the way you feel, it affects everything. It’s something that’s always been a concern. “

And he’s right. The growth and spread of technology has indeed been very insidious to my generation. I am 27 years old and can always remember technology being something that was rapidly developing, the focus was on the world of tomorrow rather than the world of today. I would sit during adolescence and watch technologies go from early-adopter, must-have features on television and in the press to obsolete trash. Although having never known any different I still had this innate feeling that this was a strange situation to be living in; an unsettling way to grow and develop. Yet even before that event when current technology became obsolete, newer technologies were becoming the objects of others desires; the next ‘have to have’ gadget to revolutionize your life - yet in a few short months returns you back to the place you begun, although this time high and dry for the next technological fix. Imagine having this since birth, technology being tied into your very genetic make-up - addicted. It seems we’ve been cultivated - or, as I believe, programed - to be ‘on top’ of everything, to be knowledgeable about everything. But, all that has resulted is an ADHD-society where its developmental disorder makes it hard to concentrate on and properly learn anything for it will all soon be obsolete anyway. I mean, what’s the point, right?

My generation have been propelled into a world that it found itself no longer being able to take control of, where change is the only constant. We have been condemned into an existence of that dark creep, one that constantly scratches at our doors - to resist is to fail, for it will render you equally obsolete should you try. The modern worlds quest for constant innovation stems from the capitalist mentality for commerce, one whose furtive goals are proven to be the antithesis of values central to the successful survival of the human race: personal respect, the creation and cultivation of family and community and personal happiness.

It seems undoubtable that the human race WILL ultimately design something that will end up causing its destruction. With the advent of every piece of new technology we come closer to the end. Literally. We are already living an existence that destroys the very ethos of community, each day ‘plugging’ ourselves into our own virtual ‘realities’, interacting through a wire, seeking the greener grass that we have been programmed to believe is obtainable if we reach far enough. No wonder relationships are breaking down, no wonder we hold our partners to unrealistic criteria, no wonder we become cosmetically enhanced; we are ultimately programmed to wish we were living, walking, breathing robots who aren’t programmed to feel those basic human emotions of fear, loneliness and heartbreak - all natural mental states that arise spontaneously rather than through conscious effort, and all the very attributes that make us who we are: human!