Throughout human history, there has always been a desire to make our life better for people. Besides other species, the human being is one of the creatures that know how to create tools in order to improve lives and how to develop the devices in order to make our world better. In “The Problem of Technology,” Lawler (2005), a professor of Government at Berry College, indicates that people today do not know how to live their life without technology, and the use of technology may lead their life to good and bad at the same time, and that is why technology can be a problem for people to deal with. Various kinds of technology are very hard for people to evaluate whether the technology could be good or not (Lawler, 2005). The expansion of several …show more content…
People use their electronic devices, such as cell phone and laptop, to conduct a lot of tasks or documents faster. The rate of producing has risen by upgrades of technology. The qualities of people’s life gets a lot better by adapting new technology, which leads to increasing more free time for human beings. Therefore, in “Technology, Progress, and Freedom”, Edward Younkins (2000), a professor of administration of accountancy and business at Wheeling Jesuit University, points out that people can focus on high-level mind works in life, such as philosophy, love, religion, comments in culture, or even unblemished one’s soul (Younkins, 2000; Pinker, 2010). The new technology may provide more creative work opportunity even though it may remove certain type of works because they need to be replaced by new expertise (Younkins, 2000). In the other words, the birth of new technology may cause some people to lose their old jobs, but it gives people who obtain new skills more options for their jobs because people have more time on brain works instead of labor …show more content…
In general speaking, among most of the parents and educations definitely agree that these new technologies are stealing people’s attention judging by their observations of their children. In “Does the Internet Make You Dumber?” a journal writer who also wrote a book called “The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains,” Carr (2010) mentioned a study which was conducted at Cornell University. For instance, during the class, the professor lets half of the class use laptops to connect to the Internet and asks the other half of the class to turn off their laptops. The result of the experiment is that students who use the website get a worse performance on the following test than the other half of the students (Carr, 2010). It is an astonishing result: People usually think the students using the Internet and laptop during the lecture might help them because of supporting information which can be found on the Internet, but the distraction of the Internet and laptop is the key factor, which determines student’s academic preferences being negative. However, in “Mind over Mass Media,” Picker (2010), who is a professor of psychology at Harvard, indicates that people who suffer from attention deficiency easily get distracted or addicted by an amount of information from the Internet which keeps coming to them; however, human beings have diverted attention, and it is not a recent problem in human history.
The topic of technology and our society has become a very controversial subject today. Many people believe that technology is an essential component of our modern world, helping us to improve communication from farther distances as well as giving us easy access to important information. On the other hand, there is the opinion that too much technology is affecting social interactions and our basic development. “Technology…is a queer thing, it brings you great gifts with one hand, and stabs you in the back with the other.” (Carrie Snow.) The CBC Documentary “Are We Digital Dummies” displayed the pros and cons when it comes to modern technology that we use in the western world everyday.
I agree that the Internet, as well as advancements in technology is interfering with our concentration and the framework of our minds in a negative way. It may allow us to expand our knowledge and thoughts, but it does not allow us to grasp a deeper understanding on what we’re actually reading and learning. With knowing that we are just a click away from searching anything in the world, it plays a negative factor on our learning abilities. As Carr said, “we come to rely on computers to mediate our understanding of the world, it is our own intelligence that flattens into artificial intelligence.” (377)
Does the internet make us smarter or dumber is a question that has been asked more frequently, especially when referring to my generation. In Nicholas Carr’s article “Does the Internet Making Us Smarter or Dumber?” he adamantly believes that the internet is in fact making us dumber with its various distractions, hindering cognitive development, and affecting our knowledge retention. He supports his belief with studies such as the one conducted at a university where students were divided and only half were allowed to use their computers during class while the others were not (Carr,22) . The outcome showed that those who did not use the internet did better on the tests (22). After reading this article it made me ask the question myself and I believe that the internet is making me smarter in certain ways and dumber in others.
One of the clear topics discussed through out “In Defense of Distraction” was that cell phones and the internet have dramatically influenced the way people think. Of course, with all the access people have to learn something on the web, it would shift people to think in another way. Changing the way people think has others questioning if the way is truly efficient and ends up with a faster result. In a journal article “The Internet’s Impact on Our Thinking: An Exploration of the Consequential Implications on Our Cognitive Thought Process” written by Brent Weyers, he clearly states that “In an academic setting, the internet ‘increases access for all students to information not known to teachers, and therefore, increases the
Many people think about the pros and cons of technology. Do you think that cell phones have taken too much control over us? Do you think that technology is moving too fast? Are you often distracted by the fact that you are too addicted to technology and are concerned about it? There are many issues with technology in both: the book called “The Giver” by Lois Lowry and in real life. Think: Is technology moving too fast and controlling our minds to much? In the novel "The Giver" and in real life many people all over the world spread the word that technology is bad for our society.
In today's world, technology is constantly changing from a new paperclip to an improvement in hospital machinery. Technology lets people improve the way they live so that they can preserve their own personal energy and focus on the really important factors in life. Some people focus their energy on making new innovations to improve transportation and the health of people that may save lives and some people focus on making new designs of packaging CDS. Technology is significant in everyone's life because it rapidly changes what is in the market. But, some new innovations of technology are ridiculous because they serve no purpose in helping mankind.
Technological advancement comes with a price—our focus. Maggie Jackson in her article “A Nation Distracted” explains that technology has promoted a culture of distraction in America. First, the author explains that technology is causing us to engage in more multitasking, which leads to more time spent on completing our tasks. Second, the author notes that studies show that youth and children are adept at using technology, but are deficient in their critical thinking skills, and properly investigating and using the internet. I feel that the author makes an important point when discussing technology is leading to widespread distraction in our society.
Throughout the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Enlightenment, and the Industrial Revolution, technology has changed the world, conforming it into the techno-savvy world of modern times. While technology can cause slight problems, like in the example about the Next Generation identification, the possibilities of technology are continuously changing for the better. The everyday items of modern society were simply fiction several decades ago. While technology is used to complete tasks in fractions of the time, heal epidemics, and open doors of possibilities never dreamed achievable, this technology is only a beneficial resource to society if used with true intentions.
The Pew Research Center focuses on technology-related things and conducted a survey for 2,462 teachers. Ninety percent of those teachers believed that technology was causing their students to become more easily distracted with shorter attention spans. An article on Huffington Post mentioned a study that showed that students could not focus on their homework for more than two minutes before having to look at some kind of electronical device like their phone or television. The Kaiser Family Foundation found that about half of students from the ages of eight to eighteen do their homework while using some kind of electronical device. Technology has affected our focus so much that we can't even focus on the little things for too long. Studies have even shown that people who use the internet at work change tabs or check their email about thirty-seven times an hour! All this multitasking can cause us to become more distracted. Sometimes, we can even become distracted towards the people around us.
In the article, How Technology is Changing the Way Children Think and Focus, author Jim Taylor , emphasizes“…students who were allowed Internet access during class didn’t recall the lecture nor did they perform as well on a test of the material as those who weren’t “wired” during class” (par. 10). Children have become so brainwashed that they drown everything out around them and put what little attention they have, on their devices, leaving the individuals completely oblivious to their surrounding environment. From a teacher’s standpoint, it is already hard enough trying to maintain the focus of 32 wondering minds, some with ADD and learning disabilities, the last thing he or she needs is a handful of students not paying attention because they are playing on their devices. Children unable to focus on certain activities not only damagingly affects themselves, but also their fellow
Contrary to God, technology is an evil force. A special ignorance within the assumption that “imperfections” should or can be designed out of existence. Imperfections are a crucial part of what makes us creative and ethically responsible in the first place. “Blinded by the awesomeness of our tools, we might forget that some problems and imperfections are just normal costs of accepting the social contract of living with other human beings, treating them with dignity, and ensuring that, in our recent pursuit of a perfect society we do not shut off the door to change.”
Albert Einstein quoted, “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.” The use of technology today is affecting our future generations by introducing them fast into using technology. Children today are focusing more on Ipads, Ipods, smart phones, or other electronic devices, rather than focusing on their knowledge. In addition, toddlers are mastering using electronic devices before they can even speak. (Alison Lee, 2013) According to research conducted by Alison Lee, it has been shown that when her child was 17 months old, he could activate the television by the use of the remote control. Although, today’s technology has also abducted the minds of adults, and It makes them addicted to it. For example, due to careless driving and many causes of death accidents, this happens from people who use their electronic device while driving their vehicle. In fact, technology is being upgraded annually, and causing more people to get addicted to it. Today’s society is very addicted to technology, that studies indicated that 2013 is the year where some human beings have an internet disorder. In addition, people who have internet disorder suffer from this condition. However, people who are overly attached to the use of technology makes them more prone to anxiety, physiological disorders like cyber bullying, and clutched to that electronic device would dominate home life.
Nevertheless, many fears to technological advancement have been expressed similarly to that of their predecessors by the ‘Neo-Luddites’ of today (Stewart 1996, p.13). A prime advocate, author of The End of Work and US economist, Jeremy Rifkin asserts that technology is a ‘revolution’ which has taken over the world, posing a significant restructuring of the workforce and quality of life (Wyndham 1997, p.
There is no doubt that the accomplishments made through technology are astonishing. Technology has made amazing impacts on everything from science in space to medical science to the devices we use every day that make our lives easier. People are living longer and better than ever before, but we can’t forget how to live without it. “Just because technology is there and makes something easier doesn’t mean we should rely on it so much that we can’t think for ourselves,” (Levinson).
The standard 21 year old adults have exchanged 250 thousand emails, spent 5 thousand hours video gaming and 10 thousand hours using their mobile devices (Lei, 2009). When people hear the word technology, they think of microwaves, televisions, cars, NASA, different types and transportation and more. For all that, technology has occurred long ahead these discoveries. Technology is an arguable matter amongst people. .In the old days, people lived an extremely simple life without technology. They used candles to light their houses and lanterns at the dark to travel, they used fire to cook and used newspapers and mail to share news. On the other hand, technology has seized an important place in our society. People are living in a stage of progressive technology. They are using all natural reserves applicable for making their lives better and easier. The society cannot picture life without electricity since it allows them to live through their everyday life. This paper argues that technology positively impacts people’s lives.