Technology\u2019s promise of wonderful things in the future stretches from science fiction to science fact: self-driving cars, virtual reality, smart devices such as Google Glass, and the internet of things are designed to make our lives easier and more productive.<\/p>\n
Certainly inventions of the past century such as the washing machine and combustion engine have brought leisure time to the masses. But will this trend necessarily continue?<\/p>\n
On the surface, tech that simplifies hectic modern lives seems a good idea. But we risk spending more of the time freed by these devices designed to free up our time through the growing need to micromanage them.<\/p>\n
Recall that an early digital technology designed to help us was the continually interrupting Microsoft Office paperclip<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s possible that internet-connected domestic devices could turn out to be ill-judged, poorly-designed, short-lived technological fads. But the present trend of devices that require relentless updates and patches driven by security threats and privacy breaches doesn\u2019t make for a utopian-sounding future.<\/p>\n Technology growth in the workplace can lead to loss of productivity; taken to the home it could take a bite out of leisure time<\/a> too.<\/p>\n