Should There Be an App for That?

I've just been listening to a journalist on the Marian Finucance Show giving a round-up of the latest and most exciting "apps". He was rhapsodizing over an app that lets you call a taxi with no call-out charge, and another app that lets you send a mobile phone text for free (I think). He mentioned, incidentally and almost gloatingly, that taxi companies and mobile phone companies would take a big hit from these free services.

How come we are all in favour of jobs and against unemployment, and the executive who "lets people go" is a villain in movies and books and news reports, but we are so enthusiastic to use technologies and services that will probably put people out of work? We are not only enthusiastic, we are gleeful at the prospect of doing the businesses out of money.

Do the people who download illegal music and movies not feel a twinge of guilt at the closure of the HMV shops in Ireland? When I made this point to somebody I know who does illegally download files, and who is unabashed about the practice, he said: "HMV make huge profits. They just decided to get rid of their Irish branches". That doesn't make much sense to me. Even if that was true, there must be some reason why keeping their Irish branches open seemed like a good idea until a few weeks ago, and now doesn't. I can't believe that illegal (and indeed legal) downloading doesn't play some part in that.

On the same subject, my father reproached me for ordering books and DVDs through Amazon, since this would also have damaged HMV and other stores, and he is quite right. My initial defence was that you can't buy more obscure of niche or out-of-print stuff in most bookshops or music shops, but you can at least try to order them through the shops and I didn't.

Now, I accept that the prices a particular business might charge might be extortionate, or gratuitous, and an "app" (or some other cost-cutting or free way of getting what you previously had to pay through the nose for) might be a deserved come-uppance. But is this really always the case? After all, even though I don't worship at the altar of the Free Market, it does seem to make sense that businesses would not charge rip-off prices when they have competition that could underprice them. (Except of course when it comes to shops and labels with snob value.)

I just think we are way, way, way too complacent in our attitude to technology. Even speaking as an enthusiastic blogger, and a man who met his fianceé online, I think we should be much more wary of the possible social costs of new inventions.