Technology: a blessing and a curse in our lives

By CRISTINA FLORES
Scripps Howard News Service
March 16, 2005

Slowly they have crept into our offices, cars and homes. Little technological gadgets that once were found only on reruns of "The Jetsons." Gadgets we believed would make our lives easier, simpler, perhaps less complicated.

Boy, were we wrong.

Author Maggie Jackson, 44, writes about the technological invasion that is taking over people's lives in "What's Happening to Home: Balancing Work, Life and Refuge in the Information Age."

Jackson, who also writes a column for the Boston Globe, said home is no longer a safe haven from the outside world.

"We are losing home as a refuge, but we still need to create refuge at home. We can't have this Victorian ideal of this quiet female private retreat anymore, because life has really changed and we can't go back to that," said Jackson in a phone interview from her home office in New York.

"I think that it is really important that home is an anchor for people. If you can't find peace, quiet time or intimacy with home, where will you find it - at Starbucks?"

Technological advancements may allow for more mobility, but as such gadgets become more common, a dark lining is becoming apparent.

A study done in 2001 by the Families and Work Institute revealed some common sentiments when it comes to technology and how it's used in the workplace.

The study questioned 1,003 adults who work for someone other than themselves. Of those surveyed, 41 percent said they often or very often use technology at work and also during personal time. "Those who use technology more frequently feel more overworked."

In the same survey, employees also expressed frustration at the extra availability technology demands. Of those who feel they are "unnecessarily accessible," 51 percent say they feel overworked.

There are, however, some who believe these new gadgets don't necessarily keep people chained to their office. Instead, the technology helps them gain more independence from the workplace.

Brewster Thackery - a senior project manager for AARP, the lobby for older Americans - is one of these people.

"I see a computer ... as giving me independence. The independence to actually leave my desk and go home knowing that even if I have something that I need to finish I can do it at home ... I see it as very liberating," said Thackery, 35.

Thackery's wife Sherry, 30, disagrees. She doesn't believe these gadgets will keep work from invading their home.

"Sherry, I think, sees it the opposite way. She sees it as meaning that the workday doesn't end at five o'clock when I walk in the door, but that it can follow me home."

One of the latest techno-gadgets that has gained in popularity is the BlackBerry, a lightweight, mobile computer.

The BlackBerry allows users to answer e-mail, surf the Internet and use text-messaging programs. And yes, it's also a telephone.

Technological mobility has increased even more with smaller, lighter personal computers. The Panasonic ToughBook Y2, weighing in at 3.3 pounds, makes it even easier to take your work wherever you go.

"Because of technology we can take work home with us. Yes, we can surf the Net to plan our weekends at work, but now there is a huge trend that I am seeing. We have this split-screen life," said Jackson.

Wireless service companies have also begun to provide bigger and broader software that will enable you to access your work or personal computer from anywhere at anytime.

Companies that offer this type of network claim that by being able to access your computer anywhere in the world will allow the user to spend more time with family.

"We just got a DSL in the last couple of weeks," Thackery said, referring to a high-speed Internet telephone line. "I see it as something that will make time on the computer at home more efficient, so I am looking forward to using it for that reason."

In Jackson's opinion, this new concept of multitasking mobility is just a disaster waiting to happen.

"To try and be with your child, and at the soccer game, and on the cell phone during work, or having two different work meetings at once via voice mail, and then on the Internet, people really try to cram as much into each moment. And I think this is backfiring on a lot of levels," Jackson said.

"When work and home spill over to each other, one of the repercussions is that our definition of togetherness of presence - where we are, who we're with - really changes."

But Jackson also acknowledges there is a balance.

"It's just a matter of learning how to use technology and not being so blindly enthusiastic about these gadgets," Jackson said. "New gadgets don't always give you a better way of life."