I LOVE technology! I absolutely do! I also absolutely depend on the computers in my life (smart phone, laptop etc). I'm rarely without my smart phone and indeed, I'm constantly using it. I find new ways to use it nearly everyday. It wakes me up in the morning, minds my tasks, reminds me of appointments (even letting me know where they are and the fastest way to get there), I read ebooks on the way into work, reply to emails at the bus stop and do all my billing online to name a few. If I went on a technology fast, I would struggle.
Recently, I was on the subway heading in to work, reading an ebook on my smart phone. A man sitting next to me after watching me for a number of stops, asked me, "What is that? I mean, what are you doing?" I looked up confused, thinking, "What is that? It's a phone!" But as we started to converse, I started to understand his perspective. He was from Maine, his work was outdoors and he said, he had a computer in the backroom at home but he almost never uses it. Yet, during his visit to Boston, he was surprised that everyone had an electronic device in their hands and couldn't imagine what they did on them. He felt like an alien, completely out of his comfort zone and couldn't wait to go back home. I explained to him that I was reading an ebook on my phone and we spoke about some functionalities that he hadn't realized existed. He told me, flabbergasted, "I have a cell phone. I just use it to make calls!"
Yet, there is nothing wrong with the way he lives. Technology doesn't have to be a necessity for everyone. So many of my students, live lives that don't involved technology and they do it well! I am happy to help someone understand technology and learn how to integrate it into their lives. But there is no reason to convince someone who lives happily without technology that they absolutely need it. Using technology and the degree to which someone integrates it into their lives is an individual decision. Sometimes I think, because we love it so much, we forget that others don't have to share that feeling.