A guide to the everyday technology worth being thankful for

I carry a lot of animosity towards everyday tech. 

iPhones distract my loved ones from our quality time, smart assistants insist I need a butler who spies on me, and my various inboxes and text messages enable me to be “always on.” Then there’s that whole degradation of democracy thing. 

I’m not alone in harboring these less-than-sunny sentiments: According to the Pew Research Center, Americans are about how tech is affecting their privacy and many have on social media.

But it’s Thanksgiving, and I firmly believe that the exercise of giving thanks is inherently valuable. Even science says that reflecting on the things in life we’re grateful for can make us feel good, feel lucky.

So, while it’s easy to get bogged down with the negatives of tech, there are some applications and tools that actually deserve some gratitude for making our everyday lives better. Tech may not have made the world a better place, as its founding evangelists promised it would. But that doesn’t mean that some of the tools now available to us aren’t super cool and downright useful.

While preparing for Thanksgiving, it struck me how much I value some of them: The group texts with friends comparing holiday plans and dinner menus, the FaceTime with my sister while she shared the view from a beach in Hawaii, and the simple, logistical cooking help from Siri.

So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, here’s a list of tech I’m glad to count as part of my life. A lot of these come with huge privacy caveats, but the convenience or connection they enable might just be worth it. Happy Thanksgiving!

Google Maps

Good lord, where would I be without Google Maps? The answer, friends, is LOST. Very lost. Or, stuck in traffic. Or, opting for an Uber when I could have walked or taken public transportation. 

I think it’s valuable to have an analog understanding of your location, especially in the place where you live. But Google Maps has actually helped me get to know my city better, taking routes and seeing neighborhoods I might not have otherwise. It also helps me navigate public transportation (which is not so easy to do in Los Angeles), and determine whether I need to get in a car to visit the nearest grocery store, or if it’s reasonable to walk.

But the biggest reason I’m grateful for Google Maps is that it makes me SO. MUCH. LESS. ANXIOUS. On a road trip, I know if I’ve missed a turn off, and I know how much that delay will cost me. If I’m preparing to go to a meeting across town the next morning, I know precisely when I need to leave to get there on time (I always add in an extra 10 minutes of padding). 

Navigating the world is a stressful experience, but it’s part of life. Google Maps just makes it easier. So I guess I’m ok with it tracking my location.

Furbo

I’ve written before about how my dog nanny cam, called a Furbo, turned me into a helicopter dog mom. But that’s how I used Furbo when I first got my dog. These days, I mostly use it to check in for the pure fun of it. I have the confidence to assume that when my dog is home, she is ok — I don’t need to constantly check the webcam anymore. But, if I’m waiting in line, or out to dinner with friends I want to show off to, I can always fire up the Furbo, and watch her cute lil’ body stretch and sniff and sleep. Plain and simple, it brings me joy.

Siri Timer

I barely use Siri for anything, mostly because I’ve found it’s not that good at taking my requests. And then there’s the whole process of phrasing a question and then correcting it, and yadda yadda yadda. It ends up being more trouble than it’s worth. But, Siri excels with an extremely simple task: setting a timer. 

When I had an iPhone 6 that didn’t have an automatic wake-up phrase for Apple’s assistant (“Hey Siri”), I never used it. But with my new iPhone 11 — thanks to the somewhat creepy fact that Siri is always listening for her name — I delight in being able to summon her while my hands are covered in oil or flour. 

“Hey Siri, set a timer for 13 minutes,” I say after setting the rice to simmer, while moving on to chop vegetables. 

Sure, not having to wipe off my hands and click into my phone’s timer saves me maybe 30 seconds each time. But, it’s just futuristic enough, and handy enough, that I still find this application a delight.

Live Photos

Photos that move? That sh*t is straight out of Harry Potter.

Group chats

Ok, group chats can get real unwieldy real fast. But often, that’s because they’re fun. I have found myself cackling over a three- or six-person thread more times than I can count. But that’s not the reason group chats are on this list. Group Chats have actually helped me make new friends and rekindle old friendships in a way no other application, or even IRL interactions, can or have.

When you’re with a group of people — some of whom are your friends and some of whom might be acquaintances — it’s easy to just stick to talking to the people you’re closest with. But in a group chat, everyone’s talking to everyone. It breeds familiarity and makes it easier to get to know one another!

I’ve also had the experience of a group chat reuniting a long since splintered friend group of mine. Recently, a couple of friends from college I was closer with in the past joined a thread with some people I’m still tight with. Now, these former friends, who were in danger of turning into acquaintances, have become full-time friends again because we chat all the time. 

All hail the group thread, the true best social network! 

Signal

Knowing that there is an application on my phone that automatically deletes texts forever is a lifesaver for me. One of the most worrying effects of surveillance is its ability to stifle free speech: Signal is the best line of defense against keeping my (excellent) opinions to myself.

FaceTime

When I studied abroad in college, keeping in touch with my U.S.-based family was a hassle. Are you on Skype? When are you going to be on Skype? Are we both going to have a good WiFi connection and a quiet place to chat? FaceTime took the to-do that was video chatting and made it as easy as making a call. 

When I lived across the country from my family from 2016 to 2018 (which was years after my Skype-filled abroad experience), the ability to chat with my parents, sister, and friends face to face kept me tethered to home. 

Splitwise (+ Venmo)

Nothing makes a relationship messy faster than money! Luckily, we’ve got Splitwise to take the math and ambiguity out of the equation. 

That unenviable task of splitting up costs after a group vacation? It goes away if everyone agrees to keep track of their expenses in a shared group. Figuring out who owes whom with roommates? A regular monthly “settle up” feature makes asking for, giving, and receiving money unemotional. Plus, that Venmo integration? The ease of not having to write a check or go to the bank is a gift unto itself.

NYTimes Crossword App

I hardcore related to this that lamented no longer knowing how to waste time on the internet because … old. (Also, because monetized internet pay-to-play hellscape).

But, the New York Times Crossword app changed all that for me. When I have downtime, I’m so grateful that I know just where to go, and that the activity is actually exercising my brain and teaching me things. (Who would ever know what an “épée” was if not for crossword puzzles?! Hint: It’s a kind of sword). Plus, the (through checking if a word or letter is correct) has made learning how to play puzzles through the app much more approachable for me than a paper puzzle has ever been. Besides, I don’t cheat as much as I used to!

HONORABLE MENTIONS

These are some tools I’m grateful for, but some of the analog activities they’ve replaced denied them a spot on this list.

Regular ol’ text messaging: I text a lot — it’s just a convenient way of exchanging information. Plus, I really have a lot of fun texting. But, texting can also lead to a lot of misunderstandings, causing communication to become more passive aggressive. It can even make people more uncomfortable talking face to face (Just look at the teens whose preferred method of communication overall is texting!). 

I’m not sure it’s improved my life or the world for the better. 

Spotify: Having access to (almost) every song in the world and an AI that tells you which ones you’ll probably like is dope! You know what else was dope? Going to a music store, browsing CDs (or tapes or vinyl records), and developing your taste through trial, error, and time spent just listening.