Usability Views Article Details  home | timeline | recent | popular | e-reports | userati | books | about  Technobile (15 Sep 2005) There is no doubt technology is destroying human interaction. But then, faced with the increasingly tedious nature of such interaction, is that a bad thing? The hideous "have a nice day" recorded message from the lips of junk-food sellers has been replaced by an interactive survey of mindless tedium. You buy a pint of milk. The item is zapped, the price appears on screen. Then it begins. "Would you like help packing?" "No thanks." "Do you have a Nectar card?" "No." "Are you collecting vouchers for schools?" "No." "Would you like ...?" "Just give me the bloody change!" What is this? A plan by management to drive us all toward the DIY machines so they can downsize yet more staff? Is it a rearguard action by shop assistants intent on forcing human interaction? Or have people become dysfunctional computers? Article URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/weekly/story/0,16376,1569779,00.html Read 63 more articles from guardian.co.uk sorted by date, popularity, or title. Next Article: Installing Verizon FIOS fiber-optic Internet service to my house     This site is a labour of love built by Chris McEvoy