Opinion: Fresh out of prison, I am discovering the good, bad and ugly of technology
Robert Barton, a D.C. resident and returning citizen, says his "newness" to the world after 30 years in prison has given him a fresh perspective on the role of technology in society.
Since coming home after nearly 30 years in prison, everyone asks me what the biggest adjustment is. And the answer is easy: the dominance of technology in everyday life.
As I walk down the streets in awe of the sights, feeling like a tourist in my own city, everyone else has their eyes focused on their phones. They are talking and walking, texting and walking, posting on Instagram and walking. When I’m in a club, I see young women setting up glamorous selfies, while barely talking to who they are with. They are almost like zombies. The only difference is that they are entranced by their phones.
In other words, while I notice the deep pink of the magnolia trees, the vibrant graffiti, and the little kids’ chalk drawings on the sidewalk, everyone around me is missing it, because their eyes are glued to their screens.
You see, I am still in that stage in which everything is new and fun. Walking down the street is fun. Riding on the metro is fun. Even taking out the trash is fun. Literally, everything is fun…because I am FREE! And technology is not yet the crutch everyone else uses as a shortcut to everything.
Once, when I was still in prison, I was on a call giving my friend some numbers to call for me. He responded in surprise, “Where are you getting all of these numbers from so fast?” I told him, “Where do you think… from my head,” as if he was crazy. I couldn’t fathom how anyone wouldn’t be able to recall their most important phone numbers. He just laughed and said, ‘Man, if I lost my phone I would be dead.”
And now, I get it. In fact, the other day I accidentally left my phone on the metro and I immediately went crazy. It felt almost like I had left my right arm on the train. But, thanks to technology (Apple’s Find My IPhone app), I was able to sound an alert and it was found by the conductor of the train. I felt giddy with relief.
One of the good things about my “newness” is that I’m able to recognize both the dangers and the benefits of this rapid evolution of technology. You see, because everyone is so addicted to their phones and social media, they aren’t really in tune with the small joys of life. There seems to be so little real communication. It’s almost like we as a society are losing our social skills. For example, my former cellmate and I have a deep bond because we sat in our cell for hours at a time and just talked. (We had nothing else to do!) This rarely happens out here, because people’s attention span has shrunk, distracted by various types of screens. People in society aren’t listening that deeply. It’s all surface level.
On the other hand, I am blown away daily by all the ways that technology can do work that used to take hours – or that wasn’t even possible to do. While some people warn about the creeping takeover of artificial intelligence, l think ChatGPT is the most amazing invention ever created. I love the fact that I can ask it anything and then tailor the answers it produces to fit my needs. It’s an indispensable tool that I now use all the time to produce slide presentations, develop budgets and tailor grant proposals. Yes, customization is still important, but puts so much expertise at everyone’s fingertips. I call it the great “democratizer.” And, for most uses, it’s free!
The challenge, of course, is finding the right balance between becoming a slave to technology and being a smart user of its benefits. The longer I am out in the world, the more I realize I must find that balance for myself.
Here is one solution I have found: When I am out with my mother, or someone else important to me, I put my phone on silent and tuck it away in my backpack. Or, when capturing the experience on camera is important, I put it in airplane mode. Everyone who “wants a piece of me” can wait a couple of hours. I challenge you to do the same.
