There are many times I scoff at the idea of technology being able to always change our lives for the better. That is not to say that it CANNOT change our lives for the better, but the idea that adding technology will ALWAYS change our lives for the better I think is not just wrong, but toxic.
However, there is one area where it does help me and that is in keeping track of what I am eating.
I am not going to pretend that the Lose It! app is going to magically make me more healthy, but what it does provide me is an avenue to look at what I am eating and to make some decisions. For me, it is portion size.
Being able to scan the bar codes of what I am eating/drinking and to know the nutritional contents of that item without needing to sit down and tabulate and read makes it something I am more likely to do. Keeping track over time allows me to keep track of how my habits might be changing. Adding the ability to track my weight at the same time gives me a measurable outcome with which I can see a difference being made.
Those are all good things.
However, it is also not enough. I still need to take that information and make choices about what I am and am not going to do. Technology can help us with things, but it cannot replace us as humans nor our need to make choices for ourselves.
So often technology tries to take the human out of the picture, but we love something important: the human.
Technology can help, it can be a tool, and it can enhance but it cannot, and should not replace.