New technology is not good or evil in and of itself. It's all about how people choose to use it. — David Wong

New technology is not good or evil in and of itself. It's all about how people choose to use it.

Author: David Wong

Insight: We're drawn to blame our tools for our problems because it feels cleaner than admitting we're the real variable. Social media is toxic, we say—as if the platform itself has opinions. But the same technology that lets you doom-scroll for hours also connects you to old friends, helps you build a business, or lets you learn something genuinely useful at 2 AM. The difference isn't the app. It's what you decided to do with it. This matters more now because the tools are faster and more persuasive than ever. A knife can harm or prepare dinner. A hammer builds or destroys. But algorithms? They're designed to keep you engaged, to nudge you toward outrage, to show you what you'll click. The seduction is built in. So saying "it's neutral" actually misses something important—not that technology is inherently evil, but that it's often deliberately shaped to push you in certain directions. That's why your actual choice becomes harder to make and more worth protecting. The honest version is messier: you're not just picking how to use a neutral thing. You're wrestling with something that's already lobbying for your attention. Knowing that difference is what makes you less likely to outsource your choices to whatever's glowing brightest in front of you.