Should We Decouple Technology from Everyday Life?

I recently went to visit a friend in Washington, DC. Upon arriving at his swanky apartment building, I couldn’t help but notice that tenants have to use a smartphone to navigate all of the building’s features. If you want to get into the building, you have to scan your phone with an app. Use the elevator? An app. Get into your own apartment? Well, there’s an app for that, too; the apartment complex did not provide my friend with a physical key to his own unit. Such an apartment complex could never be occupied by an Orthodox Jew like me (since I cannot use my phone on Shabbat and the holidays), because at every turn the most essential tasks are accomplished with a smartphone. And, of course, they are not accomplished any better than normal, non-digital technology methods; keys are (usually) quite effective for unlocking doors. And keys don’t leave you stranded outside your apartment if your phone dies. Digital technology has infiltrated all aspects of everyday living. It seems that the ... Read full article.