--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The very technologies that were supposed…" description: "\"The very technologies that were supposed to free up our time seem instead to be consuming it, tacking hours onto our already extended days. The very in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/sally-helgesen-38942_complexes_the-very-technologies-that-were-supposed_2480722.jpg" --- # The very technologies that were supposed to free up our… ![“The very technologies that were supposed to free up our time seem instead to be consuming it, tacking hours onto our already extended days. The very interconnectedness of life in a global networked economy that creates so many opportunities also makes all our decisions more complex, crucial, even…” quote by Sally Helgesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/sally-helgesen-38942_complexes_the-very-technologies-that-were-supposed_2480722.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/sally-helgesen-38942_complexes_the-very-technologies-that-were-supposed_2480722.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/sally-helgesen-38942_complexes_the-very-technologies-that-were-supposed_2480722.jpg) > “The very technologies that were supposed to free up our time seem instead to be consuming it, tacking hours onto our already extended days. The very interconnectedness of life in a global networked economy that creates so many opportunities also makes all our decisions more complex, crucial, even fragile.” [Sally Helgesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-helgesen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Technology intended to save time often ends up consuming more, while global interdependence adds complexity and fragility to decisions. **In simple terms:** Tech can backfire and global ties complicate choices. Key Takeaway Beware of hidden time costs and simplify decisions. Themes technology time management globalization complexity fragility Mood reflective concerned Type analytical cautionary When to use this quote - workplace planning - personal scheduling - policy making - risk assessment Key Concepts productivity paradox systems thinking interdependence Questions to Reflect On - How do you measure the real time saved by a new tool? - What strategies simplify complex decisions? A Different Perspective Even efficient tools can create new burdens if not managed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Complexes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economy/) [Fragile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fragile/) [Interconnectedness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interconnectedness/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“In modern parlance we speak of the interconnectedness of all life, suggesting that one cannot really be healthy when the environment is sick.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-a-young/in-modern-parlance-we-speak-of-the-interconnectedness-of-all-life/) Richard A. Young > [To drop into being means to recognize your interconnectedness with all life, and with being itself. Your very nature is being part of larger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-kabat-zinn/to-drop-into-being-means-to-recognize-your-interconnectedness-with/) [Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-kabat-zinn/) > [There is a deep interconnectedness of all life on earth, from the tiniest organisms, to the largest ecosystems, and absolutely between each person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-a-deep-interconnectedness-of-all-life-on-earth-from-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For me, love is not about froufrou New Age-ism. It's about a way of living and honoring the interconnectedness of life and accepting our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-butterfly-hill/for-me-love-is-not-about-froufrou-new-age-ism-it-s-about-a-way-of/) [Julia Butterfly Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-butterfly-hill/) > [If life is a checker game, someone else is moving the pieces. It isn't us. Don't be surprised by amazing coincidences. There are no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/if-life-is-a-checker-game-someone-else-is-moving-the-pieces-it-isn-t/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Global interconnectedness has led to the emergence of a new political power, that of consumers and their associations. It is good for people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/global-interconnectedness-has-led-to-the-emergence-of-a-new-political/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/whatever-affects-one-directly-affects-all-indirectly/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“All of our ancestors live within each one of us whether we are aware of it or not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/all-of-our-ancestors-live-within-each-one-of-us-whether-we-are-aware/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [It's really important to me to show the interconnectedness of things. I always try to illustrate how environmentalism, humanitarianism, animal rights - all those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-hannah/it-s-really-important-to-me-to-show-the-interconnectedness-of-things/) [Daryl Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-hannah/) > [“In my mind, I could sense their roots under the soil, creeping in helical tangles of ever-increasing complexity outward and in all directions—out beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/in-my-mind-i-could-sense-their-roots-under-the-soil-creeping-in/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) > [“quantum physics explains the interconnectedness of all things verifying my statement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-vickers/quantum-physics-explains-the-interconnectedness-of-all-things/) [Lee Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-vickers/) > [All disciplines affect each other. Mistakenly the man says, 'This is the only area where I let down.' Not true. Every let down affects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/all-disciplines-affect-each-other-mistakenly-the-man-says-this-is-the/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [“All that interconnectedness that facilitated much of the explosion of megawealth over the last decade also facilitated the interpenetration of everything, so no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/all-that-interconnectedness-that-facilitated-much-of-the-explosion-of/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [I have become convinced, through my studies, that the only way to achieve a safe, just and viable world is to live by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/i-have-become-convinced-through-my-studies-that-the-only-way-to/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“When a person dies, they cross over from the realm of freedom to the realm of slavery. Life is freedom, and dying is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/when-a-person-dies-they-cross-over-from-the-realm-of-freedom-to-the/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) ## More by Sally Helgesen > [What business needs now is exactly what women are able to provide, and at the very time when women are surging into the work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-helgesen/what-business-needs-now-is-exactly-what-women-are-able-to-provide-and/) [Sally Helgesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-helgesen/) > [work is elevated by our daily environment into something that is appropriately done everywhere and at every conceivable moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-helgesen/work-is-elevated-by-our-daily-environment-into-something-that-is/) [Sally Helgesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-helgesen/) > [women, when describing their roles in their organizations, usually referred to themselves as being in the middle of things. Not at the top, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-helgesen/women-when-describing-their-roles-in-their-organizations-usually/) [Sally Helgesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-helgesen/) > [Top-down leaders, by withholding power from those in the ranks, deprive them of the ability to use the expertise and information vested in them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-helgesen/top-down-leaders-by-withholding-power-from-those-in-the-ranks-deprive/) [Sally Helgesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-helgesen/) > [most of us persist in regarding leadership as synonymous with - indeed solely derived from - high position. Perhaps the notion of grass-roots leadership…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-helgesen/most-of-us-persist-in-regarding-leadership-as-synonymous-with-indeed/) [Sally Helgesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-helgesen/) > [women's entry into the public sphere can be seen not merely as the result of contemporary economic pressures, the high rate of divorce, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-helgesen/women-s-entry-into-the-public-sphere-can-be-seen-not-merely-as-the/) [Sally Helgesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-helgesen/) > [our domestic lives reflect the major trend that dominates the consumer marketplace today: an ever-increasing emphasis on variety and choice. ... we find ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-helgesen/our-domestic-lives-reflect-the-major-trend-that-dominates-the/) [Sally Helgesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-helgesen/) > [the female view that one strengthens oneself by strengthening others is finding greater acceptance, and female values of inclusion and connection are emerging as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-helgesen/the-female-view-that-one-strengthens-oneself-by-strengthening-others/) [Sally Helgesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-helgesen/) > [As women's leadership qualities come to play a more dominant role in the public sphere, their particular aptitudes for long-term negotiating, analytic listening, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-helgesen/as-women-s-leadership-qualities-come-to-play-a-more-dominant-role-in/) [Sally Helgesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-helgesen/) > [in the past, having a life while earning a living didn't seem like too much to ask. Today, even this basic goal has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-helgesen/in-the-past-having-a-life-while-earning-a-living-didn-t-seem-like-too/) [Sally Helgesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-helgesen/) [Explore all 11 Sally Helgesen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-helgesen/) ## More Complexes quotes > [Being an artist is a totally godlike thing to do - and I have a god complex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-anderson/being-an-artist-is-a-totally-godlike-thing-to-do-and-i-have-a-god/) [Laurie Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-anderson/) > [UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed States back to life, often after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/un-peacekeeping-operations-are-now-increasingly-complex-and-multi/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [For many of us, work is the one place where we feel appreciated. The things that we long to experience at home - pride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlie-russell-hochschild/for-many-of-us-work-is-the-one-place-where-we-feel-appreciated-the/) [Arlie Russell Hochschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlie-russell-hochschild/) > [People are messy and complex, particularly in the homosexual world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-yiannopoulos/people-are-messy-and-complex-particularly-in-the-homosexual-world/) [Milo Yiannopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-yiannopoulos/) > [At the risk of some oversimplification, if the skill composition of our work force meshed fully with the needs of our increasingly complex capital-stock,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/at-the-risk-of-some-oversimplification-if-the-skill-composition-of/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [There's a whole journalistic-industrial complex dedicated to keeping newsprint, TV screens and radio waves clean of destabilizing scoops damaging to corporations or the state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-cockburn/there-s-a-whole-journalistic-industrial-complex-dedicated-to-keeping/) [Alexander Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-cockburn/) > [The ascent of any route begins, in dreams at least, the autumn before. Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) > [Through learning we grow, becoming more than we were before, and in that sense learning is unselfish, because it results in the transformation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/through-learning-we-grow-becoming-more-than-we-were-before-and-in/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [Significantly, God in Genesis 1 pronounces the rest of creation "good" before humanity is created. The psalmist and the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-clapp/significantly-god-in-genesis-1-pronounces-the-rest-of-creation-good/) Rodney Clapp > [Naval dominance of European waters was the largest, longest, most complex and expensive project ever undertaken by the British state and society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-rodger/naval-dominance-of-european-waters-was-the-largest-longest-most/) [Nicholas Rodger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-rodger/) > [When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/when-you-first-start-off-trying-to-solve-a-problem-the-first/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“The act of consciousness is central; otherwise we are overrun by the complexes. The hero in each of us is required to answer the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hollis/the-act-of-consciousness-is-central-otherwise-we-are-overrun-by-the/) [James Hollis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hollis/) > [The only way to stave off boredom, in a complex domesticated primate like humankind, is to increase one's intelligence. This is not appealing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-only-way-to-stave-off-boredom-in-a-complex-domesticated-primate/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [As the number of unexplained, irreducibly complex biological systems increases, our confidence that Darwin's criterion of failure has been met skyrockets toward the maximum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-behe/as-the-number-of-unexplained-irreducibly-complex-biological-systems/) [Michael Behe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-behe/) > [We knew the Syrian situation was complex and there were lots of divisions, particularly on the side of the opposition... This is a tough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/we-knew-the-syrian-situation-was-complex-and-there-were-lots-of/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) [Browse all 1,635 Complexes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The very technologies that were supposed to free up our time seem instead to be consuming it, tacking hours onto our already extended days. The very interconnectedness of life in a global networked economy that creates so many opportunities also makes all our decisions more complex, crucial, even fragile.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sally Helgesen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-helgesen/the-very-technologies-that-were-supposed-to-free-up-our-time-seem/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Complexes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-helgesen/the-very-technologies-that-were-supposed-to-free-up-our-time-seem/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/sally-helgesen-38942_complexes_the-very-technologies-that-were-supposed_2480722.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/sally-helgesen-38942_complexes_the-very-technologies-that-were-supposed_2480722.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/sally-helgesen-38942_complexes_the-very-technologies-that-were-supposed_2480722.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The very technologies that were supposed to free up our time seem instead to be consuming it, tacking hours…” — Sally Helgesen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sally Helgesen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-helgesen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The very technologies that were supposed...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-helgesen/the-very-technologies-that-were-supposed-to-free-up-our-time-seem/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-helgesen/the-very-technologies-that-were-supposed-to-free-up-our-time-seem/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```