The time saved by the Invention of grocery stores, washers and dryers, planes, trains and cars should have provided a family enough sure time for rest and relaxation. What modern society shows us today Is exactly the opposite of what these new Inventions should have given us, a less stressful life. Eating food and drinking clean water is a necessary part of normal human life. People cannot survive more than 7 days without water and typically no more than 3 months without food.
Easily attainable and affordable food is a miracle of modern agriculture, a green revolution that freed the common man from a purely agrarian life dedicated to growing and harvesting enough food to feed one's family or immunity. Fast food, a concept that took the world by storm has now fallen out of favor, being replaced by home-gardeners and a slow food movement that touts the benefits of personal gardens full of fresh, nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables versus the toxic, pesticide and chemical laden commercial foods readily available In supermarkets today.Fast food, that was equated with time-saving, gave us time, but did not give us better, healthier lives In the end. On a ship to a foreign land, never to return. Now, with planes, trains and automobiles, affordable by most middle-class people, going coast to coast within a weeks time is possible, so vacations to Hawaii or New York or California are Just a plane ride away.
But the pursuit of leisure time or the "vacation" has become almost like work itself, stressful as well as expensive.The ease of traveling by car makes going home for Thanksgiving at both my mom and dad's parents places possible, but unreasonable since we are able to spend only a couple hours at each place and countless hours on the road getting there. Has this made life better and less stressful for all of us? On he contrary, convenience of car travel has made us put unrealistic expectations on what can be accomplished in a 24 hour period.The loss of civility among people in many societies is being blamed on technology such as the television and particularly computers and the internet.
These devices that were initially created as educational tools have been used more predominantly as entertainment boxes, taking the place of regular, healthy, human social interaction. Simulation games, social media, testing, twittering, emailing, you-tubing have diminished societal interaction even though they have greatly increased the each of an individual to befriend people in continents and time-zones far away.Technological advances are neither the problem nor solution to issues in society and human interaction. The technological conveniences we enjoy in modern society have enhanced the way we live in many ways. We technically have a lot more time for leisure pursuits, but the value we put on how we interact with each other warps our ability to truly enjoy it. Having time and knowing how to use it well in positive, beneficial, uplifting ways should not be assumed.
