We hear a lot about the "evils" of modern technology - by which people seem to mean smartphones, rather than, say, kettles.
Endless photos are posted on social media (it's not clear whether this is deliberate, or unintentional, irony on the part of those posting...) showing people "staring mindlessly" at their phones in settings from art galleries to restaurants. People ignoring the band on stage at a music venue to film it on their phone. Because, of course, the people commenting in despair have never taken a photograph of any event they attended, or recorded any family event, They are much more intellectual advanced, far more morally superior, than that.
Because, of course, technology and social media are almost universally slammed for "encouraging narcissism and endless self-promotion." Indeed. Including the somewhat narcissistic idea that we have a right to comment on how others, who are not known to us personally, choose to pursue happiness.
And perhaps there's truth in the accusation - perhaps people are genuinely more self-obsessed than they have ever been previously. Perhaps social media is less social, and more an endless round of people shouting about themselves, at people who can't hear, because they're also shouting about themselves?
Or perhaps the apparent self-involvement and narcissism of social media is a symptom, not the problem. A symptom of a society already fractured by greed, arrogance, divisive political and socioeconomic actions, inactions, policies and ideologies, a society in which people have been systematically deprived of the love and respect of others, and so have come to realise that they might as well love themselves, rather than go mad from the isolation of being seen as one more piece of human detritus.
When I think of "modern technology", I think of the fact that I wouldn't have a job if I didn't have a laptop and on-demand internet access. I think of the years - actual, literal, soul-destroying years - I spent chasing every job listed in the paper, every vacancy poster stuck in the window of every shop. I think of the money I wasted travelling to register with employment agencies who weren't interested.
And then I think of how much easier earning money, through something I am actually good at, has been since I've had broadband. I think of how much easier getting in touch with employers has become thanks to email - no more playing phone tag for days on end before you finally manage to return someone's call at the same moment they're free to take yours.
I think of oppressed groups, fleeing war, violence, persecution, and using Facebook to tell the rest of the world what's happening.
I think of victims of abuse, of disabled people, of mentally ill or neurodiverse people, who can finally connect with other people who know what their life has been like, even if they don't feel able to leave the house. I think of housebound people finally able to shop for themselves.
I think of LGBTQ+ youth, finding their community without the risks of dubious bars, clubs, and physical meetings with unknown people.
I think of people in geographically remote locations, without transport, able to develop friendships.
I think of non-verbal individuals who are able to communicate their interests and intelligence.
I think of Deaf individuals, able to engage in lively conversations.
And I think of Socrates, and his aggressive rejection of the "new technology" of writing...and realise that social media and smartphones aren't "modern technology" at all. They're a very ancient and long-established technology presented in contemporary fashion.
There will always be vain and selfish people - they existed even in Socrates' time, before the advent of the written word, and they will exist long after the laptops and smartphones we're familiar with have been replaced by something incomprehensible to today's 30yr olds.
Technology is, like so much else, morally neutral. It is our motivations for engaging with technology that make it troublemaker or therapist.
