Why Do We Resist Technological Change?

While we seem great at welcoming new technology into our lives, when the time comes for that tech to get upgraded or altered for efficiency we  aren’t so accommodating.
It’s been said that in life, the only constant is change—and nowhere is this more true than in the tech world. Indeed, if it weren’t for those willing to experiment and see changes in the world that didn’t yet exist, we wouldn’t have many of the main innovations that we rely on today.
However, it seems that while many of us are more than willing to benefit from the change-making work of visionaries and inventors, when those same people decide to upgrade, improve or change the inventions, services and gadgets that are already on the market, we all suddenly become incredibly resistant to the idea of change. How quickly we grow accustomed to something and then decide that it cannot be improved. This is a somewhat limiting way of thinking and a very frustrating demographic for developers and inventors to have to serve.
While it’s true that some tech innovations or upgrades are flops, the vast majority of them end up improving how we use or do things once we grow accustomed to them. It’s somewhat childish to think that once something works and fits in with our lives and routines, it should stay exactly as it is. Our lives would be devoid of improvement if innovators of the past had refused to think this way.
In the software-enabled world we live in, this trend seems to have gotten more pronounced. A slight tweak to a user interface or algorithm, and a chorus of objections and “we know better” statements ensue. In reality, however, we have no idea what the backend data looks like that may have led to that choice, and with only a few exceptions, we quickly adapt to these changes and can’t imagine the service without them
It seems the best scenario would be that as tech users we stop being so resistant to change. Here’s a look at some of the changes in the past few years that are cautionary tales for our change-averse attitudes.
Facebook Newsfeed: It’s hard to imagine, but when Facebook was first introduced, it didn’t have the “newsfeed” that serves as the hub of the network today. In 2006, when the service introduced this feature, it was largely unheard of on the internet at the time. People resisted insistence that it wasn’t how the service was intended to be used. Now, of course, we can’t imagine using Facebook for anything but the newsfeed, and it’s superseded the initial utility of Facebook, like writing on someone’s wall.
Twitter Timeline: More recently, Twitter announced that it would be “curating” users’ timelines so they could see a more relevant representation of what Tweets might interest them. This was a departure from the method of showing every Tweet from accounts that user followed in the order that it appeared. While the backlash to this is still in progress, it’s unlikely that Twitter’s developers did this without knowing the implications that it would have. In a few months’ time, there’s every chance that Twitter users won’t want to go back to an non-curated feed.
Touchscreens: When mobile phones first came out we were all certain that a tiny, alphanumeric keyboard such as that on a BlackBerry was the most efficient way to type out messages. Then, in came Apple with a slew of touchscreen products including the iPhone and iPad. This definitely took some time getting used to, as people moaned about their fragility and interface. Now, of course, every smartphone has a touchscreen and most of us wouldn’t go back to the way things were.
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