Is technology creating a society that is lazy and boring?
Some argue that life is more exciting and more productive with technology. That might be true in some aspects, but in other areas we are irrefutably falling behind as time passes.
I was struck with this epiphany last weekend when I stopped into an amazing antiques shop on the coast. My jaw dropped as I noticed the amazing craftsmanship of the items from the 1800s and 1900s.
It is impossible not to notice the difference between the current era and ones preceding it. You can see the pride people used to put into their craft. That same kind of pride is hard to come by these days.
The mentality used to be about building to the best of your ability. We are seeing less uniqueness and character in products the further society pushes toward technology and mass production. This is the old quantity versus quality theory.
This is not to say that technology and mass production are evil. These can both be very good things. My one question is: Why is everything so bland and boring?
I remember the furnishings in my great grandparents’ home. All the appliances and furnishings had so much character, and most everything in the house couldn’t be destroyed if you hit it with a tank.
Now most furnishings and appliances seem to break if you look at them wrong.
Take a closer look at the exterior and interior detail on a decades old church. In those days churches were the shining examples of craftsmanship in a town.
In terms of comparing quality, a great example is modern houses. A modern average house might look just as nice as the average house from decades ago, but if you have ever worked in construction you would know that isn’t the case.
The lumber used in new houses are is junk, and the houses are slapped together so quickly that walls are anything but straight. The build quality in older homes is far superior because builders cared a little more about building something well rather than just building as many as possible.
Judging by my observations, earlier generations had a different mentality about making a product. They didn’t make something to be just good enough, it was better than it had to be. I still hear the same kind of things from those who were part of those generations.
I think the convenience of technology and mass production is for the most part a good thing, but I wish we were able to grow quality
Philosotroll • Sep 16, 2011 at 6:57 am
This is an interesting article, and I suppose that I’m sympathetic to parts of it. Certainly it’s fair to make this argument; the construction of craftsman furniture and houses, generally, have really dropped off in recent decades, and as those are beautiful things (albeit very expensive to build) that are well made and worth being very proud of, that is a tragedy.
But there’s another side to that coin, with respect to mass production, that is absent. Mass production in housing, especially, has made housing far more accessible to lower and middle income families that it would have been decades ago, and allows for the space those families need to live comfortable lives. While I’m all for encouraging people to buy craftsman houses and furniture (as it is really an art) I do think that the industrialization of housing has, generally, been a good thing.
Though I should disclose that members of my family do make craftsman furniture, so I have a little bias there.