Does Technology Affect Awareness?

I remember when they first started letting us use calculators in school.  At the time, there was lots of discussion about whether this would impact people’s math skills.  I don’t hear much about this anymore.

But, if I think about it, there are many things I ignore because of technology.  I probably only know about 3 people’s phone numbers since they are all in Outlook and synched up with my Blackberry. 

What are the implications of consumer technology on our health awareness?  Once all my prescriptions are tracked in a PHR, will I forget what drugs I am on?  And, even if I do, do I care?  I don’t think I do as long as the PHR (or whatever tool) is always available to me and my care team. 

I certainly use a calculator today.  I depend upon my crackberry.  I can’t remember all my statistics since I can use Excel to calculate them and press help to find out what it means. 

But, literacy about healthcare and the ability to talk in a group (virtual or physical) about my condition or that of someone I care for is important.  I will certainly use technology as my crutch to store and remember information.  I only wonder how this will affect our long-term attitudes on health as things become abstracted.