If North American society is going to end its collective addiction to technology, it must go against its individualistic nature and acknowledge that we have been in denial about our addiction to technology. Social scientists and psychologists have gradually been trying to warn us of our technology addictions by examining our overuse of cell phones and computers. The fact of the matter is, our over-reliance on technology is damaging on many levels and must be stopped by whatever means necessary.
Ending a collective, societal addiction is similar to ending an individual addiction. The first step is breaking the denial. A society that is not judicial about its own flaws is an unhealthy one. It is critical that we acknowledge our technology addiction before it does irreparable damage to ourselves as individuals, our societal relationships and to the environment we live in. The voices of reason that are pointing out our societal addiction must become louder, and those who have been reluctant to listen must be held accountable as part of a group.
Secondly, we must make efforts to change our thinking as a society. We need to be cognitive of which choices we are making that contribute to our technology addiction, such as overuse of our cell phones and vehicles. We need to make the decision to refrain from overusing these technologies in the future, perhaps by walking to the store instead of driving, or by setting rules down about our phone usage. We need to remain aware of our tendency to overuse the technologies in our lives and be cognitive of healthier thought patterns we can adopt.
And lastly, even once we have made changes to our lifestyles, we need to remember to support one another in the quest to liberate ourselves from technology and reach out for support when we are feeling weak. An addiction to technology may not be as severe as an addiction to a drug, but because it can still have serious ramifications, it should be taken seriously as an addiction.