Is technology alienating us?
Most of us perhaps know how isolating technology can be. Living in the urban landscape, we often don’t know who our neighbours are, but we engage in deep conversations with someone miles away, whom we have never met.
Tellers were replaced by ATM machines long ago and now self-checkout counters are springing up almost everywhere, cutting down human interaction. We are now more comfortable clicking on the groceries we want on an app than calling someone local to have them delivered.
What’s the issue? Digital loneliness is only one side of the coin. On the other side lies digital alienation caused by the rapid digitisation of most aspects of our lives. Rapid digitisation often leaves out several groups of people for whom the technology eventually becomes inaccessible.
These groups are the elder ones and those who are specially-abled.
To navigate an increasingly digitised world for a 60-year-old is very difficult. For disabled people planning out travel entirely on an app without in-person travel agents is blinding. A UK study found disabled persons disengaging with technology after it became inaccessible to them.
Train tickets need to be booked online, vaccine passports are sent through a link, boarding tickets need to be printed out at an automated kiosk at airports and all information related to the neighbourhood, social groups, shows and more are sent on messaging platforms like WhatsApp. Imagine you are a 70-year-old, would you be able to navigate this world?
What’s the solution? While the solution may seem like teaching our elders about the latest technology and how to use them, it is more on the tech makers' and service providers’ shoulders to make services and tech more accessible to all sorts of groups.
This includes retaining in-person services rather than going fully digital and also ensuring that our latest tech is accessible to the specially-abled.