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Are We Truly the Masters of Our Selves or Are We Giving Ourselves to the Smart Apps?

With each passing year, month and day, technology is improving rapidly. This fast-paced tech-dependent world has bombarded us with updates and notifications; it has become a challenging task to keep up. It all began with the dawn of the internet in the 1990s, under whose rule we still operate today. Laptops, high-speed data, smartphones and smart everything else, has redefined human lifestyles globally and continue to do so every second. If you wish to stick to conventional living, you will be left out without a doubt.

Your Brain In Your Hands

It has become a compulsion of sorts to own smart devices, among which the smartphone is the absolute necessity. A device that is meant to be utilised purely for communication purposes is now directing our day to day activities. Here, we are referring to the thousands of smart apps available on our phones, which were designed to simplify, monitor and suggest our activities. These apps are programmed using sensors and collect large amounts of data regarding our activities and preferences. Following this, through a system of algorithms and analytics, predictions are made to curate a better experience for the user. These apps have more intimate relationships with us and our lives than any real relationships. We have let them invade our personal space without any room for privacy. When your phone pops up, saying you have to drink water, you immediately do it. When it notifies you haven’t completed the target number of steps today, you walk around. Similarly, your sleep, food, shopping, entertainment, travel and everything else is determined by these apps. The semblance is that we use smartphones, but the truth is that we have become their puppets indirectly; A toxic dependence on these devices. 

Smart Survival 

While we are aware of the risks associated with smart apps, it hasn’t stopped anyone from using them. Being a fellow smartphone user in this era, I have not succumbed to the easy, effortless living offered by these apps. There are no smart apps installed on my phone apart from the in-built ones. As cliché as it sounds, I have one tap for all my needs, Google. I set my alarms using the regular clock app and manage my day to day schedules and to-do lists by jotting it down on the notepad. Anything that I need to remember or write, it goes on that notepad. It’s a beautiful assortment of memories, dreams, shopping lists and musings. I believe we all must trust ourselves and take up the responsibility to keep up our health and not assign an app for that. So I have no popups telling me to eat or drink. I find it ironic that people use sleep trackers to wake up sane the next morning, when actually, it is because of smartphones they stay up all night. Scroll through your screens, and you will find apps that are redundant and ridiculous. You will be able to organise everything with the minimum possible apps and minimum dependency. 

  • Smart apps are directing our every move and choice, allowing us to barely or not think at all. 
  • It is possible to use your smartphone and still not succumb to it entirely. 

What do you think?

Written by Thrinethra Serman

Thrinethra is a passionate writer, obsessive binge watcher and dog lover. She loves to explore and experience new, exciting stuff and her ultimate goal is to travel the world and share her stories. "The only thing you need to remember is this, 'YOLO', so don't let anyone or anything stop you from chasing your dreams".

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