I think that they're talking about the technology in the recent years (e.g. laptops, PC, smartphones, etc.).
Life without technology would be even more pointless than it is now. Humanity has stopped striving for improvement, but has rather taken on a different approach where most of us try to just enjoy life (instead of improving it). Obviously technology has come with a lot of problems where you have almost a billion people addicted to social networks and similar services (e.g. VOIP). The downsides are real, and people are starting to become subconsciously afraid of being disconnected. The issue is really complicated and there are many aspects to look at (I just named one).
Humanity would be much worse if there were no technical developments in general. However, some developments of personalized gadgets and services were unnecessary (smartphone, tablets, social networks). Without technology there would be no Lauda.
Yes, I was indeed talking about the recent years.
Where would you get books? No technology means no printing press.
If I'm going to answer this from you're perspective than I don't really have an answer for you. Cause nobody has lived without technology.
