For the most part, I have to admit that I do believe that modern inventions are making us lazy. Let me explain.
Since the invention of the car sometime ago, we have been travelling from one place to another with ease and speed. We can deny the fact that some of us have become lazier. We drive everywhere we go, to play, to work, to the shop which is located only fifty meters away from the house. A friend of mine who has a big fat belly does not believe in walking anymore. Walking and running doesn’t exist in his life. It is always the car, even to the aunt’s house which is just a stone’s throw away. Sound familiar?
For many people in this modern age, the four wheels have taken over the job of two legs. Consequence? Well, we become overweight, lack of exercise and proned to all kinds of illnesses. The convenience of the vehicles like cars and bikes have caused laziness which in turn caused deterioration of our physical health.
Apart from being lazy physically, we also become lazy mentally as well. This reminds me of something which happened many years ago, a friend of mine Amy who works as a clerk in an advertising company. Before the invention of the calculator, she had to do her accounts using her brains. She could add, subtract, multiply and divide with a pen and a piece of paper. Then one day the boss gave her a brand new calculator. She was of course amazed that she could perform all the calculating by just pressing some keys. One need not have to think to use the calculator. Thus her mental ability started to decline. She did not even realize this until the calculator broke down on one day. To her horror, she discovered she has forgotten how to perform simple mathematical tasks. She could not continue her work until the boss got her another calculator. Is this not mental laziness? It took us years to learn how to count but only weeks with the calculator to forget it all.
Of course there are other inventions that contribute to our laziness. Fast foods allow us to not bother to cook. Paper dishes and canned drinks mean we don’t have to wash up after we eat. And we also have washing machines, vacuum cleaners, computers and all sort of gadgets. It is true that these inventions have made our lives easier, but don’t you think they also make us lazier?
There are signs that new inventions and technology will invade our lives in the future taking over most of our daily chores. There are already robots and machines capable of doing all sorts of tasks. Perhaps the day will arrive when everything will be done for us and we will have so much free time left we can finally do all the things we like to do, if, there are still things left to do.