With the rise of AI and automation, it sometimes feels like we’re getting lazier. Gone are the days of manually searching for an answer on google, scrolling through your iPod or even having to remember to buy toilet roll…seriously.
We’ve found some nifty pieces of tech that have made us seriously lazy. But we kind of like it. See what you think.
Amazon Dash Button
On the fridge. In your bag. From memory. It varies from house to house. Of course, we’re talking about your shopping list. Amazon is tearing up your traditional way of shopping and hitting you right at the source.
When you next reach into the fridge for a cold one and find your beer stash depleting, or put the last loo roll on the holder, Amazon have got your back. The Amazon Dash Button has given that little space in our brains reserved for remember loo roll, cat food and coffee, a rest.
How It’s Making Us Lazier – we no longer need to remember key products on our weekly shop. A top-up of your most used product is just a button press away. Shop from the porcelain throne, your fridge or your bedside table.
Virtual Personal Assistants
From getting the weather, helping us sleep better, locking our doors and turning on the lights – 2018 sees the continued rise of the virtual personal assistant. Regardless of which brand you’re loyal to, it’s pretty likely you’ll have a virtual assistant affiliated to your device.
Siri can be directed to respond to your message, tell you if you’re going to need an umbrella this afternoon, wake you up on time and call your mum. Alexa works with the other tech in your smart home to dim the lights, lock your garage and put the heating on.
How It’s Making Us Lazier – thanks to virtual personal assistant devices, we don’t have to type a number or scroll through our contacts list to make a call, flick through a recipe book for dinner ideas or get off the sofa to turn off the light. That definitely feels lazy…but impressive nonetheless.
Contactless
Do you still carry cash? Do you even carry your bank card when you’re heading out? There’s been a massive wave of contactless payment so you don’t even need your card to pay for a round down the pub or your morning coffee.
When Apple Pay debuted, it had over 1 million cards registered in the first 3 days. Sure, they weren’t the first to make mobile payment an option, but they made it mainstream for most of us. Similarly, Android Pay brings the same advantages but integrates a loyalty scheme so that you’re actually better off using your Android device to pay for shopping. Android Pay users have racked up loyalty points to get freebies from the likes of Coca-Cola!
How It’s Making Us Lazier – we’re travelling lighter and there’s much less thought when it comes to purchasing; we can mindlessly spend without keying in (or remembering) a pin code.
Sat Nav
We’re all guilty of it. When there’s a journey ahead that you’re unfamiliar with, we’re not the only ones to reach for the sat nav and typing in the location for an easier journey. Rarely planning a route ahead of time or checking a paper map is definitely the norm these days.
The part of our brains that aids navigation, memory and re-routing has been given a long rest thanks to the rise of sat navs. Some people say they’re making us dumber, but perhaps they’re just making us lazier. Sat navs are taking over our brain function as we rely on these dashboard devices over traditional maps to direct us.
How It’s Making Us Lazier – we’re putting our geographic trust in a small device attached to the windscreen. It’s all well and good when things are going to plan, but as soon as you’re directed off course you may have wished you knew how to map-read.
Smart Thermostats
Ah, the smart thermostat. Sat in the lounge and feeling a bit nippy? No problem! Control your heating from a handy little app – you don’t even need to get up! Although you won’t save anything on the cost of your heating, you should be able to heat your home more efficiently – so you’re not just spending your money better, you’re also being kinder to the planet.
How It’s Making Us Lazier – sure you don’t have to get up to turn on the heating, you don’t
even have to be at home to control the temperature.
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