Fear of change
The simple truth is that most humans are uncomfortable with change. You leave for work, and everything is as it should be. You come home from work, and your spouse has painted the bedroom a new color. Yes, it might be the same color you agreed to, but that was in a conversation from two months ago, and you were not expecting this change on this day. Now you are inexplicably grumpy.
Fear of technological advance
Software advancements change rapidly and really tik us off. Technology never sits still. Technology is constantly advancing, molding itself to the newest situation, solving the latest problem. For some people, especially people who did not grow up using this technology, change on this scale creates ever increasing burden.
Artificial intelligence, bots, algorithms, self-driving cars, multiple modes of communication, satellites for everything, GPS, lights that turn on when you walk in a room, computers that speak, video cameras everywhere you go and in the hands of every person you see. The company Movius has developed an AI powered solution for collection calls which automatically let people know that what they owe in a non-aggressive and solution oriented manner. Can you imagine a computer reading peoples emotions? They can, and they built it.
An age-old fear – technophobia
You might naturally assume technophobia is a new condition requisite with our modern age, but fear of technology is as old as fear itself. Let’s turn to the wisdom of the ages to see what some folks thought of the changes in technology of their day, when people opposed technological advancements throughout history.
Regarding the basic technology of written language, Plato (c. 370 BC) said, “Writing is a step backward for truth.”[1] Socrates also found written language wanting in that it offered only “the appearance of wisdom, not true wisdom,” and students would be “for the most part ignorant and hard to get along with.”[2] The ancient experience in learning was auditory, based on recitation, and they couldn’t imagine a truly intellectual system in which students had to keep referring back to books.
In 1877 the first telephone exchange was established using Alexander Graham Bell’s invention, and that same year The New York Times expressed grave concerns over the resulting “invasion of privacy” and that “we will soon be nothing but transparent heaps of jelly to each other,” presumably from excessive use. In 1904, it was a commonly held belief that the telephone was creating a nation “of left-eared people.”[3] The Times attempted to correct this notion with the clarification that either ear can be affected permanently by use of the telephone. Regardless of the advancement, humanity harbors a tendency to provide what seems like a reasonable explanation for the anxiety we experience with a new device.
The telegraph was supposed to harken the end of poetry and, therefore, civilization in the way that it reduced language into “snippets” thereby sacrificing the inherent soul of language. (If they could only see the horrors now of LOLs, BFFs, IDKs and, holy cow! what about all those emojis – they’re not even actual words!)
Fears about software solutions
We’re still innovating, and software solutions are still rapid and sometimes arduous to learn, but Movius has produced an innovative app that does not require much adjustment at all. MultiLine emulates the calling and texting experience of the native phone; precisely so you do not have to adapt to change. Your MultiLine number provides incredible ease of access and streamlined communication for your professional contacts with a separate phone number, address book, texting, voicemail, and more.
MultiLine by Movius can serve as a substitute for your desk phone by enhancing the capability of your mobile device, and yet – let’s allay any immediate fears you might have – your personal data and all of your personal activity remain completely separate and private. To learn more about privacy, visit here.
Written by Ron Drewes
