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Probably ironic that I pose this question being in the IT staffing industry and the fact that we rely upon technology as an IT recruiting company.  However, I see more and more startling examples of technology actually hurting our intelligence.  Speed and efficiency is an important driver for technological changes.  However, these advances also have repercussions.  Let’s take a look at three in particular:

Spell Check:  What would we do without it?  In the technical staffing industry, improper spelling can damage the credibility of an IT recruiter.  Credibility is everything in the technical recruiting world – otherwise how do you expect a prospective candidate to take our IT jobs seriously?  Spelling is not everyone’s strength.  If you’re one of those who have a difficult time spelling the most basic of words, then you rely heavily on spell check.  So why is spell check a problem?  It’s a problem because people rely so heavily upon this technology; they are losing their ability to spell some of our most basic words.   The result:  spell check is actually dumbing down our society.

Phone Numbers:  When you need a number, people typically scroll through their cell phones to find it.  An individual’s address book in their phone is basically their lifeline and it contains virtually every important person, or place, in their life.  However, what do you do if you lost your phone and need to reach out to someone immediately?  What do you do in case of an emergency if you can’t access the numbers in your phone?  If not for the simplicity of 911, how many emergency phone numbers, or even numbers to your closest friends and family, do you actually know off the top of your head?  I still remember home phone numbers of the childhood friends I grew up with.  However, I couldn’t come close to providing a single phone number from an immediately family member or best friend.

Text Messaging:  This is the most obvious example.  I’m amazed to find professionals in the IT recruiting industry send out emails like they’re written in text code.  The need for speed and habit of sending short, choppy text messages is the biggest culprit of dumbing down our society.  There is no room for such emails in the IT staffing industry, especially when technical recruiters are constantly trying to prove their credibility and value-add to prospective candidates.

In the end, as much as we rely upon the technologies described above, they do have some negative repercussions.  Although we obviously should not abandon these advances, IT recruiters should be aware of their faults and make sure they compensate accordingly.