Devices vs Instruments

ANDY CROUCH: There are two kinds of technology: devices and instruments. Devices basically do things for us, they often replace us, so we don’t have to do anything when they’re doing their thing. And there’s a place for devices, but a very small place, because really what I think technology is meant to be is an instrument, which is something that actually helps me as a human being engage more with the world. When I’m using devices, they take over and do things for me; when I use things as an instrument, I’m actually creating, I’m acting, I’m making something of the world. So your phone is a device when you’re using it just to consume video or photographs – you’re just watching them scroll by, someone else made that, you’re now just consuming it and your phone is presenting it to you. But your phone is an instrument when you actually use it to make an image, especially an image that has something worthwhile about it, something that requires some effort and skill to make. So as much as possible, we need to use all of our technology as little as possible like devices and as much as possible like instruments.