What I’d Change About Modern Society: More Tech for Less Chaos

Modern society is fascinating with all the available tech at our fingertips. It’s a hyper-connected world with endless options and distractions. Sometimes I feel like I’m drowning in information as a result! If I could change one major thing about modern life, I would use technology to simplify life. Here’s what that could look like.

A Digital Household Assistant for the Forgetful

It’s easy to remember the obvious things, like a monthly bill, because you get the monthly reminder, but it’s the less obvious stuff that gets you. Like remembering when to check the flashlight batteries or vacuum behind the fridge. With so many other responsibilities, it’s easy to forget basic maintenance. Imagine feeding an app your household inventory and having it create a custom schedule: reminders to clean your gutters, test smoke detectors, or renew that annual insurance. Set it and forget it!

The Service Search Revolution

The last time I needed a home repair, it took hours to comb through pages of reviews and visit multiple websites. I’d like an app that aggregates all reviews from various platforms, including Google, Yelp, Facebook, etc., and provides a concise, reliable summary of the best repair company for the job. It’s like having a savvy, trustworthy friend who did all the research to save you time.

Unsubscribe Means Unsubscribe

You give your email once for something you can’t remember, and suddenly you’re getting daily promos and sales pitches from that company. Even worse, some companies make it intentionally difficult to unsubscribe so you have to throw that email into spam. How about a universal email filter tool, something to identify and auto-delete unwanted promotions before they hit your inbox, or block auto-subscriptions at the source, unless explicitly accepted.

Social Media, But Filtered for You

Social media is overwhelming. One scroll and you’re hit with mindless cat videos, political rants, and jokes you don’t find funny. Or, worst of all, seeing the same post ten times in one hour. We need a smart filter—a system that lets you curate your feed not just by who you follow, but by topics that interest you. The tech is there—it just needs to be deployed in user-first ways.

A News Feed That Saves You Time

If you’re into tech, staying up-to-date on what tech to use is a full-time job. New AI tools, software updates, startups, gadgets—it’s endless. What we need is a smart tech digest that pulls the most relevant, interesting updates based on your preferences and summarizes them weekly according to your needs.

The End Goal: More Tech, Less Tech-Obsession

The better we use tech to organize and offload the mental load of daily life, the less time we need to spend using it. Once your systems are in place, your email filters itself, your chores remind you automatically, your tech news comes pre-digested, and your social media is what you want to see.

What’s left? Free time to take a walk, read a printed book, hang with family, or just enjoy the silence without the nagging feeling you forgot something important—like paying your annual property tax.

It would be a dream to have tech that works in the background to make life smoother. 

Daily writing prompt
What would you change about modern society?
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Are You Seeking Security or Adventure?

As we move through life, our desires and priorities shift, which means our interest in adventure and security changes. In our younger years, adventure tempts us. The world is new and full of experiences. We have fewer obligations and more time to recover from risk. A spontaneous road trip, quitting a job for a year-long adventure, or trying a career path just to “see what happens” feels exciting.

When you’re young, your obligations are usually minimal—maybe student debt, maybe rent. No mortgage, spouse, or children to factor into your decisions. You can afford to dream big, fall flat, and dream again.

But as we grow older, the pendulum swings. Security starts to matter more. Adventure doesn’t disappear; it’s just shaped by responsibility. Adventure is a family trip to a new place that’s kid friendly. A budget-friendly car seems more enticing than a sports car. With a mortgage to pay and kids needing hockey gear or college tuition, expensive nights out seem less appealing. Risk now has consequences not just for you, but for those who depend on you.

Then comes retirement. The kids are grown, the house is (hopefully) paid off, and if you’ve saved well, time becomes your luxury once again. For some, adventure returns with a cruise,  vacations without kids, or finally learning a new hobby. (While climbing Everest or skydiving may still be possible, it’s less common.) Adventure becomes more about experience and less about adrenaline.

So, are you seeking security or adventure? The truth is, we all seek both—just different priorities depending on where we are in life. The trick is to find balance: enough adventure to feel alive, and enough security to feel safe. Neither is better or worse; they simply serve us differently in each phase of our lives.

Daily writing prompt
Are you seeking security or adventure?
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Does Memory Get Better With Age?

When we think of aging, memory is often viewed as something that declines. That is true (I’ve looked for my phone while holding it in my hand), but in many ways, memory also gets better with age. 

As adults, our brains become more skilled at organizing, filtering, and shaping memories. We can look at pictures and news articles, and ask friends what they remember about a shared event if the details get fuzzy. This approach is different from what children do to remember events. They’re more vulnerable to suggestion and less able to use external reference points (like Googling information to figure out a timeline of events).

As we age, we reconstruct memories more meaningfully (such as that birthday happening the same year the museum was constructed), weaving emotions and personal insights into the past.  

Interestingly, emotion plays a key role. Events with strong emotional impact are often more vividly remembered. No memory is flawless—we all experience the occasional false memory—but adults tend to be more aware of these pitfalls. For example, as we get older, we experience more losses (friendships, jobs, moving, etc). Although the pain doesn’t decrease, we find ways to deal with preserving (or erasing) those memories.

So, while we may forget where we put our keys, we have better coping skills when dealing with our memories compared when we were younger. In that sense, memory isn’t just preserved—it’s perfected.

Daily writing prompt
What do you think gets better with age?
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Do You Live By the Clock?

These days, I keep unusual waking and sleeping hours because of the weather. It’s summer here, and working early in the morning or late at night when it’s cooler makes sense. How about you? What hours do you keep?

Technology has created a world driven by the clock, not by the daylight hours. Many people maintain regular work hours, starting and finishing their work shifts at specific times. We shop according to a store’s business hours. We meet people at specific times. We live in a world ruled by the clock—every part of our day is scheduled, even when we take public transit.

This lifestyle is so different from the pre-industrial age. 

Before the industrial age and the widespread use of electric lighting, people lived by a different schedule. They had biphasic sleep, a natural pattern in which people sleep in two distinct segments. The first sleep began shortly after sunset and lasted a few hours. Then they wake in the middle of the night. After an hour or two of childcare, religious practices, or community defense (such as from wild animals), people would return to bed for their “second sleep,” before waking with the sun.

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to live that way—letting light, dark, and temperature guide my schedule instead of alarms and work hours. What would you prefer if you had a choice? Living by a clock, or living by your natural sleep patterns?

Daily writing prompt
What time do you go to bed and wake up currently?
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Music That Inspires

When I work or when I write, I enjoy listening to music to create a specific atmosphere or mood. One of my favorite types of music is classical. I’ve noticed classically trained musicians are now playing traditional songs like Jingle Bells, Ave Maria, and Moonlight Sonata as orchestral songs or songs with heavier drum beats. Also, violinists playing classical songs with the electric violin to modern beats while dancing. It’s not enough to just play music as a musician – you need to be able to dance and perform too!

What do you think about performing to music?

Daily writing prompt
What is your favorite genre of music?
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image credit: gz320142117 (Pixabay)