Technology is the opiate of the people.

Or the marijuana, or the cocaine, if you want to be more current, although, strictly speaking, each of the above-mentioned produces a different effect. Such distinctions, however, are not our concern for the moment. Technology is the <insert-drug-of-choice-here> of the people — what I am trying to say is that our saturation with such products closely resembles the ‘stages’ a person undergoes that ultimately lead to addiction. Allow me to elucidate.

Use. Once upon a time, the world was quiet and peaceful, free from nuclear threat, illegal downloading and toilet paper. But the human race, as per Plato’s suggestion, did not want to simply exist: we wanted to thrive. Over and above our basic needs, we invented things — to make chores easier, entertainment more portable, labor lighter, traveling faster, defecating more dignified. The world became created more and more in the image of man, and if you were listening in biology class, you will know that man, relative to the rest of the ecosphere, has always been a consumer. The consumer. So whether from peer pressure, depression or sheer boredom, man had just gotten himself his very first taste of opium.

Abuse. And he saw that it was good. Or, at least, it felt good. He wanted to do it again. He wanted more, more frequently. Faster cars, bullet trains or magnet trains, 747s or lightspeed. We burned rubber and burned fuel, and we thought that it was good. According to my sources, use “progresses” to abuse when the user starts to experience harmful consequences. Like drilling a hole in the ozone layer that makes the climate go into PMS; like having buses skid off a winding road, killing people who have come precisely to be of help; like making your mother’s hair go a premature shade of white with the ever-climbing electric bill; like murdering innocent brain cells by sitting in front of TV all day. But that might be an unfair rendition of it. Life’s a tradeoff, right? The fact that a good thing comes at a cost does not make it bad. Right? Or do I smell tolerance?

Dependence. Dependence, according to my best research, results from the prolonged use of a drug. It becomes so much a part of your system that your body gets “surprised” when it doesn’t come. This is called withdrawal. It’s a natural consequence of habituation. Some diabetics are dependent on insulin shots for their bodies to function normally, and this is not necessarily bad. Remember the almost-blackout just last week with Basyang’s brief visit? No air conditioning. No TV. No internet. Cellphones dead within the day. Still no electricity. Worst of all, no FACEBOOK.

Addiction. While it’s true that dependence and addiction are two very different things, dependence is often a large component of addiction. Addiction is a psychological state characterized by drug-seeking behavior: cravings, preoccupation with obtaining the drug, disruption in the person’s daily life. Now I want you to think back on last week. Yes, that (literally) dark time in your life. Go on. Think about it: Tuesday night, the howling from outside your bedroom window, the banging against the wall, the sound of someone clutching the doorknob — hallucinations? Did you lose sleep? And Wednesday, branches strewn on the road, and you being forced to take out your lola’s pamaypay — did you still keep sweating? No Twitter. No YM. No music. Did you start feeling nauseous? getting anxious? craving, wanting more than anything in the world to have electricity back? thinking you were going to die if this went on any longer? You are stuck at home. You cannot do any work because there is no electricity. You will have a huge backlog by the end of the week. You will have no weekend. Did you start going into convulsions at this point?

I hate to break it to you, my friend, but you are addicted to technology. Or maybe I’m just putting it all in such a bad light. Maybe it’s just a lifestyle choice. iPods, iPads, iPhones, iMacs, cameras, wi-fi, cars, light bulbs — after all, they make life easier. Technology isn’t bad. Really. It’s just lifestyle.

Now get me another fix.

The author is a fourth year Philosophy major at the University of the Philippines-Diliman.