Can Tech Help Us Care For Each Other Better?
Can Tech Help Us Care For Each Other Better?
On Not Losing Our Minds to Technology
Parents are increasingly relying on technology to help them care for their children. It’s making their lives easier, but there are potential downsides too.
Snoo, the maker of the “smart” bassinet, recently started charging parents for access to certain features, causing outrage among parents. Writer Nadya Williams argues that the existence of such technology and the outrage it elicited reveal a discomfort some people have with the basic labor of caring for others.
Williams questions whether parents should rely on technology to perform tasks that have traditionally been done through personal interaction. Technology cannot replicate the positive experiences and affirmation of human worth that comes from physical care. Rocking babies serves critical functions in brain development that technology cannot provide.
For Williams, Snoo is merely one example with young children, but the reality is that human care is necessary at every stage of human life.
Editor’s note: Snoo reminds me of a short story by Ted Chiang in his book Exhalation: “Dacey’s Patent Automatic Nanny.” The entire collection is well worth your time.