Human beings are creatures of emotion and feeling, and it is interesting how that plays out in our relationships with technology. It is no accident that people name their cars, fight over remote controls, dandify their mobile phones nor is it any accident that a lot of detailed study goes into making technology ‘graceful’ and pleasant to the eye both in use of colours, and materials.
It is also interesting how quickly we adapt to using things. I recall someone complaining once at how many times they had ‘filled the dishwasher’, and it was not forty years since people had many skin ailments on their hands from having them in water too much of the time. Technology is there to bring a sense of ease to our lives yet sometimes it does the opposite, not just in that things break down and remind us we are tied to electricity for our well being, but in our perception of what our relationship to the machinery actually is.
At the end of computer are millions of people which further defines our relationship to our laptops and pcs as these people are accessed through them. This has gone much further than merely giving us more recreational time. And the more we chat, put up web pages, talk about our lives the deeper this relationship binds and defines us.
But one day soon, the technology will be giving us names. That will be interesting:)