Authored by Jim Quinn via The Burning Platform blog,
Are we on the verge of a rebellion against technology?
Yesterday I was taken aback when I noticed an elderly Wal-mart greeter amusing herself with a fidget spinner.
What the hell is a fidget spinner? It’s a toy you just spin with your fingers.
It’s the hottest selling summer entertainment item that retails between $2.99-$8.99 depending on wether it lights up or makes noise.
To compare, last summer the over-hyped fad was Pokemon Go which was a ho-hum attempt at the first virtual reality game which turned out to have multiple technology problems such as being underdeveloped for rural areas and worldwide server crashes.
Why does the fidget spinner trend matter? Because it doesn’t involve any technology at all. It’s as low-grade technology wise as playing with a hula-hoop or yo-yo.
The trend peaked my interest as I believe we’ve reached the end game of the social media and app crazes of the past 10 years. Social Media IPO’s have slowed down to nil.
Why would we need another iTech item when we’ve got too many flooding the market already?
At a time when companies are replacing low-skilled workers with robots and kiosk machines, it’s not promising for their business models for customers to turn their backs on technology. Which is exactly why I’m predicting it’s going to happen.
We are no longer living in an era where people are adopting technological advancements; rather it’s being imposed on us. When pushed too far towards the direction of technology the equal and opposite reaction would be to turn a generation into neo-luddites.