There's no real question about the merits technology has offered society. From cars to advanced medical practices, almost anyone can list the myriad ways technology has improved how we live. But there's a reality of this world that too often goes unheeded: anything that gives pleasure can also give pain.
Ice cream is great, and even greater in the middle of summer. On a hot afternoon, you might long for a big scoop and satisfy the craving at your local parlor. But what if, despite finishing the ice cream and satisfying your stomach, your tongue needs more of it? Giving in to that craving might temporarily satisfy the tongue, but now your stomach aches. Your longing has outlived the actual benefit, and it's set you down a path you didn't expect. All desires work this way.
Two Sides of the Same Coin
Krishna elaborates on the fundamentals of desire. Desiring something is not wrong in and of itself, but every yearning can cultivate a more permanent longing. That longing can outlive the actual benefit of what we desired in the first place.
"Happiness and distress appear and disappear like winter and summer. They arise from the perception of the senses, and you must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed."
Technology affords us the satisfaction of many desires. But what are its limits? How often are we caught longing for more, exactly when more starts to mean less?
We enjoy the benefits of technology and suffer its consequences. The consequences, though, are usually in proportion to the power of the technology itself.
From the environment to how humans conduct war, the dangerous effects of powerful tools are equally obvious as their benefits. Technology exists to fill wants and needs. Krishna would advise us to analyze the very desires that give rise to such powerful tools in the first place. But it's not only the technology itself that deserves scrutiny. It's the loop we build around it.
Observe
How many times a day do you check social media for personal use, not work? Track this for 7 days straight. Do you ever check it in the middle of the night? How many times?
Introspect
What would you do without social media? Would you spend more time with people in person? Exercise more? Read more? How has it actually affected the quality of your life, beyond the time it occupies?
Do Akarma
Commit to checking social media only twice a day, for five minutes each time. Dedicate the "unused" time you free up to something productive or fulfilling that involves no technology at all.