Are computers and gadgets making us lazy?

Look around you at the gadgets we have these days — computers, smartphones, tablets, etc. It makes us seem like we're living in the future. You can do so much with these gadgets that it sometimes seems like we're becoming lazy about doing things for ourselves. But is this a harmful trend?

I don't think so. Let's look at some of the ways technology and gadgets are making us lazier and how we can even use this to our advantage!

If a gadget is more efficient than what we were doing before, it's ok that it's making us lazy.

I am a gadget guy, and I love gadgets. I’m also lazy. So, I was interested to see a recent Freakonomics podcast on “Is Technology Making Us Lazy?” The answer, according to the show, is no. If a gadget is more efficient than what we were doing before, it’s ok that it’s making us lazy.

That makes sense to me. However, there are other problems with gadgets: They can be addictive – just like any other form of entertainment or distraction – so you might not want them in your house or office if they could become an addiction or distraction. They cost money – and depending on how much you spend on them and how often you buy them, they can be very expensive!

This may not be a problem for most people but some people have limited resources so they may have to limit their purchases of gadgets or decide which ones they can afford at any given time. They take up space – this one doesn’t affect me as much as it does some people because my home has plenty of room for all my stuff (and then some).

The time we save on some tasks is spent on others.

Are computers and gadgets making us lazy? The time we save on some tasks is spent on others. It's been a long time since the "Are Computers Making Us Stupid?" debate of the 1980s and '90s, but it's still an issue worth considering. Computers and other digital devices have become an integral part of our lives, but they've also changed the way we think, work and play.

And while there are benefits to this, there are also downsides. For example, many people say they're losing basic skills like handwriting because of their reliance on computers. A recent survey by Microsoft showed that only one in five people under 30 could read cursive writing — a skill needed for filling out forms or signing checks — compared with one in three who could do it 20 years ago.

Another study found that college students today use their phones as alarm clocks instead of setting them on their nightstands, which means they don't get up early enough to exercise because they don't hear the alarm in their sleep-filled rooms.

We can exercise our minds and bodies even if we use gadgets.

The answer is no and yes. We can exercise our minds and bodies even if we use gadgets. The fact is that most people are already sitting in front of a computer all day, so it’s unrealistic to expect that they will suddenly start going outside and doing physical activities.

They’re already being sedentary for at least 8 hours during their work days, so it would be unreasonable to expect them to go outside for another 2 hours every day for exercise. At the same time, we need to understand that there are other ways to exercise our minds and bodies than through physical activity.

If you really want to get some exercise, then try some brain exercises like Sudoku or crossword puzzles. Or maybe you could try some yoga poses while sitting in your chair! The question isn’t whether or not computers are making us lazy — they are — but rather how we can make up for it by exercising our minds and bodies in other ways apart from going outside.

Gadgets may be making us lazy in ways we don't even realize, but that doesn't mean they're only making us lazy.

We all know that computers and gadgets can make us lazy. They’re designed to do that, after all. But there are some things you may not know about the way computers and gadgets can make us lazy. For example: Gadgets may be making us lazy in ways we don’t even realize, but that doesn’t mean they’re only making us lazy.

Sure, they might encourage us to sit around with our thumbs on a keyboard or our eyes glued to a screen, but they can also cause us to get up and move around. And as far as we can tell, this is good for our health! Here are some surprising ways that computers and gadgets might actually be making you more active — at least in small ways.

All in All...

With our laptops, tablets, smartphones, and iPods taking on more and more tasks for us, we sometimes find ourselves spending less time focused on the task at hand. It is easy to get caught up in either work or play - but this limits us to one world for too long.

Staying focused means we can get the most out of the experience that both computers and gadgets offer us.