Can Technology make us Fragile? AntiFragile?

This week I am thinking about technology and the impact it has on our life. Is there a way I can leverage technology to make myself more antifragile?

Technology can definitely make us fragile — just like anything that we rely too heavily on and becomes a must have to be happy, content and growing. Think about electricity in your home. Do we need it? we didn’t used to — people lived with out electricity for many years before it became readily available. And I am sure when they did get it initially if it went out they would just revert back to the way it was before they had it and went on living. No problem.

Now we not only have electricity for basic things, but we use it for many other things. It not only powers lights, but heat, air conditioning, garage door openers, the internet, etc. When the power goes out we really feel it. We slow down, believe we can’t work, go to bed earlier, etc. Do we feel fragile when the power goes out? Yes!

The same is true now with technology. The internet is a prime example. It is pretty much assumed it will be available with cellular connectivity when we are out and about and wifi when we are in a building. Mobile phones are a huge part of our life now; location-based apps get us to where we want to go without us knowing anything about the roads we use to get there. We don’t need landmarks, so if we don’t have cell service, we are screwed!🙂

We are in constant communication with our friends and family via chat, facebook/instagram, etc. Buying things we need (or just want) are available on a few clicks and arrive (in many cases) the next day without us going anywhere. Take these away from many people in the US and what happens? Pain!

So, getting too dependent on technology certainly can make us fragile. But, can technology make us Antifragile? Does it help us thrive on change? Here are a few ways it might help us:

• get a new app to do a task you do now, differently
• upgrade an existing app and use the new features
• Read articles about secret features in your phone or in an app, and use those features
• Learn about technology in fields that are relatively foreign to you and apply those technologies in your field.

The key in all of these is to take action. Use the technology differently or in a new way, and help yourself realize you have options. There is more than one way to do most everything. And what is 95% of antifragile? a mindset. the belief that you can do something when things change or are not as they were expected to be. Thrive on that change.

If you liked this article and want more of where this came from, please follow me on Medium. My goal is to provide helpful suggestions that you can apply to your life to make it more full, fun and interesting and help you thrive on change (Antifragile!). I do this from the perspective that if it works for me, likely it will work for other people!