When did I become so reliant on technology? I feel like I cannot do anything without some form of tech assisting me or literally doing the thing for me. And so when access to technology is taken away from me (cell service drops, wifi isn’t available, laptop crashes, etc.), I don’t know what to do with myself. I don’t know how to function without the tech!

I wasn’t always like this. I used to resist technology. I waited as long as humanly possible to get a cell phone and to transition to an mp3 player. And while I understand that cassette players and landlines are still technically technology, I felt safe in the world of analog. If you need to get a hold of me call me at home or at work or just come find me. Does anyone remember how it was before cellphones? At the time it was normal. At the time it was just how it was. We didn’t need to be in contact with all the people all the time. We didn’t have social media. We had socializing. We didn’t have Google Drive and iTunes and Bluetooth. We had notebooks and shelves full of records and really long extension cords. But then one day I turned into this person who can’t leave the house without his iPhone. I’m that guy who shares pictures of every meal he eats with the world. I am the one who needs to be available to anyone who may possibly want to get ahold of him at any possible moment—whether he’s in the middle of something or not.

It’s easy to blame the tech manufacturers. They’ve made it impossible to not need their technology. It’s almost impossible to find cassette players anymore, not to mention actual cassettes. Everything is digital in this day and age. And if your email doesn’t come straight to your phone, then what the hell are you doing with your life? How are you even functioning in this world? But the truth is we’ve all allowed the tech to control our lives—despite every Terminator movie and at least one Joss Whedon television show and most Doctor Who storylines and the entirety of Black Mirror showing us how dangerous it is to so.

BUT IT MAKES LIFE SO EASY.

It’s true. And in some industries, technology is a moneymaker. Take the education field, for instance: Most universities have moved to a distance-learning model. These schools are able to connect with students from across the globe in a way they never were before. Sounds great, right? The issue with this is that these colleges see how much money they make from enrolling students who don’t actually have to sit in a classroom and who don’t have to live in their dorms and they start to insist that all the departments have more and more online classes. They can accept more and more students and collect more and more tuition money, without having to build more academic buildings. And at this point, there is no going back.

How would humans handle it if all the cellular and satellite services stopped working one day? Would we find a way to do our everyday activities without our technology? Would we just move on with our lives? Or would we RIOT and DESTROY EVERYTHING because we weren’t able to post a status update?