Laziness of Society with Technology

The over-reliance on technology by man has created a dysfunctional society in which simple tasks such as dialogue have been compromised. The humans in the film ride around on hovering chairs with immediate and constant access to video chats at their disposal. Aboard the massive luxury cruise ship, Axiom, people don’t interact with each other. Instead, they rely on technology and the directive of the autopilot to do practically all of their native capabilities. Technology undoubtedly makes life easier for humans, however an over-reliance on technology has created laziness amongst many. The narrative in the film is consistent with  what we see today, as many choose to alienate themselves from society with technology.

As mentioned, the humans in WALL-E literally spend their lives roaming about on moving couches. Their lack of exercise and movement in general has rendered them to be overweight and seemingly boneless. They quite literally have no physical contact with each other as they would only talk to one another via a “holo-screen”. The humans do not appear to be enjoying life even though they seemingly have everything aboard the spacecraft. The movie depicts how consumerism and technology in the future have turned humans into ‘pieces of meat’, only acquiring knowledge from a screen. Aspects of human nature, such as intellect and general curiosity are being lost as we continue to amputate ourselves from reality.

As the Axiom evacuates humans to space, the Earth is left overwhelmed by trash due to mass consumerism. The humans live in luxury aboard Axiom, as they are constantly fed and entertained as it cruises through space. However it is not other humans waiting on them, it is robots. The message here is that we are quickly eliminating basic human interactions, and as the future depicts, our only interaction will be with technology.

Imaging life without computers, cell phones and high-speed internet is hardly plausible. This is reflective of the current generation whose use of cellular phones is highly documented. New advances in social media have further separated today’s teens from society. This has given rise to a generation of couch potatoes, where sitting in front of the television for hours is routine. Younger people would rather be on their phones all day than spending time building interpersonal relationships. Envisioning the future as it is depicted in WALL-E isn’t difficult as many believe that our current society is on it’s way to self destruction.

Humanity has to hold paramount the conservation of the planet rather than the misconception of consumerism. Older generations continuously preach about many of the important things in life that appear to have been forgotten. In the film, the advent of technology makes people lazy, unhappy, and obese. Whether it is sitting on the couch all day, or communicating with a screen, this laziness creates negative implications for others and the planet in general.