This may be one of the most debatable topics that I have been speaking about, which is not limited to the debate with people, but inside my mind too.

This is about whether innovation is good for us or not.

The obvious answer that comes to mind is, yes, it is of course good. And why not if it helps someone live more, eases the mental and physical pain that someone may have, makes two people talk to each other every day even if they are thousands of kilometres apart, helps people wear fresh and clean clothes every day, etc.

Wherever you are, if you currently turn your head around, all you will see is the products that have been built by someone. Be it a fan that you can hear whirring, the screen you are currently reading this post on, or the chair you may be sitting on. These are the parts of the innovation ecosystem that humans have created.

Before we understand if innovation is good for us or not, let’s first try to understand: why do we innovate?

Innovation is a product of an agitated mind which has channelised its energy into a scientific quest.

(I could have made the above statement sound positive, but trying to hold on to the conclusion for now)

This means that when people in our history were dissatisfied with the world around them. It made them restless; this led them to explore possibilities and innovation, and hence today there are products in our hands.

As per our ancient Hindu spirituality, “peace is our true nature”; this means we are already at peace. It is the mind which is the cause of all of this havoc. This mind needs movement; it needs variation to survive; that’s why sugar tastes sweeter after we have tasted salty food, water tastes better when we are thirsty, a model in a bikini looks hot for an instant, and then she becomes just another image, and you swipe up, looking for the next dose of hotness.

The final result is peace, which is attained after fulfilling the desires of the mind; it is the perspective that needs to refresh again and again. The more we do this, the more juice keeps coming, and we feel it is much more enjoyable. Water always tasted the same, but we needed to move our body on a hot summer day, just to come back home and quench that thirst.

This image illustrates that peace remains when expectation disappears

Due to the continued hunger to find the always available happiness, humans create problems in their lives and then solve them and feel good about it.

And this internal restlessness inside humans is the fuel for all the innovation and technology around us.

The entrepreneurs or businessmen find solace in solving various problems. They try to cover the entire world with a carpet to save themselves from thorns, rather than simply wearing shoes. They bring restlessness, havoc, discussions, arguments, gains, losses, quarrels, etc., in their life in the name of bringing peace to the world, but in reality, they themselves are actually trying to feel fulfilled and valued.

And the result is that their fulfilment makes others lazy and dissatisfied since people now have fewer problems to solve. A life with fewer problems may seem like a smooth life, yet when there is nothing left to struggle for, there may also be little left to strive toward. Sometimes, the greatest gift is not solving someone’s problem but leaving them with a problem worth solving.

Another big problem is that these problems are not solved but give birth to other smaller problems that occur more frequently.

As Mark Manson wrote in his book, “Life is essentially an endless series of problems — the solution to one problem is merely the creation of the next. Don’t hope for a life without problems. Hope for a life full of good problems.”

Reference: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

We may see them as solutions, but they are still problems. The frequency is the big play here because now, most of our days’ time is filled with these frequent problems and their solutions.

Let’s see some simple examples around the same,

Example 1: Online food ordering — It solved the problem of cooking at home or going outside for fine dining. It is really comforting; no need to change clothes, no need to wear makeup, you may eat in front of the TV in your cosy comfort. This solution gave birth to other problems: 1) You need extra budget for this added expense, 2) Your mind is always seeking comfort and does not want you to stand in the kitchen and cook. 3) You are ordering food on phone and then struggle to get out of it and you spend the next hour watching the reels and wasting time 4) Your body movement has become lesser and lesser and you are feeling lethargic day-by-day 5) The less movement of body and habit of doing everything online is taking a toll on the body and hence the heath issues start to occur and so on.

Example 2: Maps— It solved the problem of navigating across the country or internationally. It brings us the confidence of going anywhere without signboards (that are sometimes confusing) or asking people about the way, and it also gives us the power to choose the correct road to save traffic. But this again gave birth to many other smaller problems: 1) The part of the brain which would register the important landmarks along the way, is not in use anymore and hence power of remembering the roads will be gone, 2) Since we focus on the GPS device, we subconsciously are anxious to reach our destination and not enjoying the way that much, as a result, driving is becoming a work than a recreation, 3)Traffic displays help us discover an alternative route, but when everyone is guided to the same route, even the secret paths eventually become choked, 4)Maps apply the algorithm to find the best route but doesn’t measure the width of the road, as a result sometime we get navigated to the routes that are not meant to be for vehicles, 5)We have become practical (this is super important for me) and make our move only when traffic looks fine on the road. Earlier, we used to visit our parents’ or sister’s or brother’s house without worrying about anything. Love was the pulling force. We didn’t worry about the journey; we simply carried an image of happiness in our minds but now we are waiting for traffic to ease and spend next 3 hours on phone in the name of waiting, 6) If we have chosen one way over other, and this comes out to be a wrong decision, then our regret can be greater than the excitment of meeting someone, and the whole journey is ruined.

From the technological standpoint, these palm-sized devices have been an advantage for thousands of people but have been a curse for millions of them. People have become lazy to get out of bed. This device wakes people with the reels and current bulls**t happening in the world. They feel more depressed, demotivated and hate their life more than ever because it is induced by comparing their life with others’ so-called happening life, career, spouse, cars, etc.

Example 3: Language — This is a non-technological innovation but has affected us big time. Our eyes can never lie, but we invented language because it helps us talk to each other and makes things clearer. As a result, verbal communication is more satisfying compared to eye-to-eye talk, but it also brings some sort of ill effects which are much deeper. Most of the verbal communication lacks depth. We now know how to hide our feelings and can do business with people whom we hate meeting. We have become shallower with time and have started to be in relationships that we don’t want to be in. This way of living makes life meaningless, and hence we are unhappier than ever.

Since with innovation we are constantly increasing our problems, we feel trapped and think there is no way out. These innovations may have improved our lives from one point of view but have brought a lot of problems too that are more frequent than the original problems.

The modern technological ecosystem is constantly introducing new forms of instant gratification into our lives. Whatever we need, we mostly get it at that instant. Because of this, our capacity for waiting is decreasing every day. This is making us impatient and hence restless.

We are alive when we are slow and are experiencing the struggles to achieve something.

Just imagine, you lose 10 kilograms in a month using some healthcare technological advancement, compared to losing the same amount of weight in three months of intense exercises; which one will give you more satisfaction?

Is finding a partner after making a lot of effort on yourself, right from preparing yourself mentally and physically, and overcoming all your fears, anxieties or apprehensions, more fulfilling than simply swiping right or meeting through social media?

The result may attract us for a moment, but life is not felt when we achieve anything without effort.

It looks like a consolation prize that neither one likes to give nor receive.

So, if your aim in life is to live, then choose the right piece of innovation around you. Choosing everything because it is a fashion may keep to upto date with today’s environment, but this will eventually make you feel worthless.