Today, we all use technology almost all of the time. Our homes are filled with televisions and computers, our cars feature satellite navigation systems and we are constantly connected to the internet and to our social networks by means of mobile phones and PDA's.
All of this technology – from SIM Only mobile contracts to unlimited data deals – is designed especially to make our lives easier. Our gadgets are there to help us to communicate with one another efficiently and with ease, to access information as fast as we can and to store volumes of data in small, compact devices from which it can be retrieved without fuss.
However, often, the technology which is designed to make daily life easier gets in the way of precisely this objective. Mobiles become bogged down and slow when they run too many applications, computer filing systems full of data become impossible to navigate and email inboxes fill up with useless clutter disguising itself as important information.
Indeed, in order to ensure that technology does what it is supposed to do – that is, in order to ensure that it makes things easier and not more complex – it is necessary constantly to streamline our computer systems and mobile phones. Work out a simple filing structure, for example, so you can find the information you are looking for without hassle, and delete unwanted material to keep the device running as smoothly as possible.
Similarly, you will want to install a spam filter in your email account and cut back your contact list on your phone to promote ease of use. Only if we use technology wisely can it help us to run our lives in a way that is simple and elegant; if we don't, we find invariably that mobiles and computers can complicate things rather than simplify them.
