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Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Is technology necessary?
After reading Brave New World and part of Amusing Ourselves to Death, I start to wonder about technology in the future. Although I absolutely believe technological advancements we use today are not necessary, I understand that at least one person out there will disagree. Yes, these gadgets and tools make life easier and much more entertaining, but my question to you is are they really essential and significant to everyday life? To tell you the truth, now for some reason I fear the future. I do not wish my life 10 or 15 years from now to be drastically different. I asked my parents for their opinions about the evolution of technology in the many years to come and my father simply stated that technology will continue to advance with no definite stop. It would probably be more reasonable to use technology than to become completely dependent on it. I refer back to Andrew Postman's statement, Neil Postman's son, about a group of college students that actually walked down the street to visit a friend. To me, this example carries a true meaning and shows how greatly affected we are by television, cellphones, computers, and many other interesting gadgets. Time with family and friends is valuable and precious, so why waste it in front of a computer screen? I do not think I were to lie if I were to tell you Neil Postman is correct about the numerous ideas he points out. Maybe we are really amusing ourselves to death? Come on, we have to be realistic and use our brains. Will we really die without a cellphone and text messaging?
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Sometimes I also fear , Yandy, what would happen to the world if we continued to develope technology wise and stopped depending on the little stuff like spending time with are friends, and walking along parks but then I rememder some technology is needed. Although I agree with about you the statements in Neil Postman's book being correct I also feel that some technological developement was need. Although a great majority of it is useless and is there simly for amusement some of it isn't. For example if the internet was not invented you would not have been able to type up this blog or do most of the work assigned for ap english. So although i do fear what the world is coming to technology wise i do not wish for us to stop stop developing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Yandy, but I also believe that we do need SOME technology. Vehicles, telephones, and medical advances are all very important. We use them daily! Well, most people do. Of course things like cell phones, computers, television, and ipods are all unnecessary, but some technological advances have become quite helpful.
ReplyDeleteVehicles...
I may sound illogical in saying this, but we really need vehicles in our daily lives. How would we get to school or work without cars, busses, or even bikes? Of course some people could walk, but not if you live far away from work or school.
Telephones...
Can you imagine a life without telephones. Cell phones have conquered over traditional home phones. People now hardly talk via phone; they would rather text. People begin to develop informal habits, but I believe that good old house phones keep us sharp and give us better social skills.
Medical Advances...
I strongly believe that our world has benefited through the advances in the medical field. Think of how many people have been saved because of our doctors and their tools that they use every day. They have definitely impacted our world for the better.
Yandy, when I read "Brave New World" and "Amusing Ourselves to Death", I thought the same thing: What will our world be like in the future? I wish the world could stay the way it is, and not become even more dependent on technology. We are in need of drastic change.
I'm quite certain that someone WILL die without a cellphone and text messaging. Whether they are in need of calling for help because they are dying, or suffering because they are deprived of their wonderful electronic device(s) they may die in the end, right?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, onto a more serious note. I strongly believe that some technology is necessary for us, but if you're referring to modern day technology such as electronics and medicine, then I believe we don't truly need those. Cavemen survived their time with stick and stones. They were not as intelligent as us, either. Maybe we could pull it off, too. . .
Joey Thompson makes a good point that things such as vehicles, telephones, and medical advances are convenient and benefit us greatly. Yandy, though, questions whether it is essential and significant to our lives. Truthfully it is not essential to have any of those to live, but if we did not have any one of those, then our lives would be significantly affected.
Time with family and friends is very valuable and precious, but some people find sitting in front of the television or the computer much more entertaining and fun. If it's not entertaining or fun then what is the point of sticking around? So yes, for any of those people that are like that, they are definitely amusing themselves to death.
I do not fear the development of technology. It is how we use or abuse that technology that raises some doubts. Is today's technology changing us for the better, or the worse? After reading Neil Postman's book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, and some Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, it seems like the worse to me.
Yandy! :)
ReplyDeleteNo, I agree with you, we won't die without cell phones and texting, I mean, before the cell existed we did just fine. But we also lived more complicatedly. These technologies, such as E-mail, Instant Messaging, Cell phones and cameras are the significant, useful technologies that are appreciated to be created. The other technological inventions that are VERY silly and pretty much unnecessary are things like automatic toilets that have music built in and water pressure to wash your butt when your done with a built in light to see in the dark with (I saw it on Tyra, haha.) And I think Laser pointers for teachers is pretty dumb, touch screen computers are really unneeded and the most creepy invention I've ever seen is this urn--> (http://izismile.com/img/img2/20100108/weird_inventions_11.jpg)
I think we do need some techy stuff, like electricity. But really, do we need luxury items like cell phones? No. But they sure do come in handy.
Also, what else needs to be invented? It seems like we have anything you can think of! Cars, elevators, escalators, self-automated bathrooms, automatic doors, heck, you can even check out your own items at Albertson's! Maybe in the future we will be unemployed because robots have taken the place of human beings in every aspect. They're smarter, quicker and efficient. But I dislike that thought very much. Besides, humans are better when it comes to detecting faulty errors, helping customers and having conversations. Technology taking over is creepy!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Yandy on how we won't die without cell phones and text messaging. Today, we live in a society where technology is everywhere. I agree with Jimmy on how the use or abuse of technology is the area where you should fear. Technology such as cellphones, ipods, television are not necessary. However, I believe that some of today's technology are needed such as the medical advances and electricty. Technology is usually invented where it make ourselves easier. Today, technology have been used to be unnessary or help people. However, since technology would continue to improve,it is up to the inventers of the technology to decide if we are to improve ourselves or control ourselves.
ReplyDeleteYandy your right, life is too short to be wasting it with amusements from technology. But once someone starts it there is no going back. Its like a drug because for example once you start facebook you must check it everyday, once you start texting you must everyday, or once you start watching t.v. you must watch it everyday etc... These are all addictions and we have all fallen into at least one of the catergories. And these addictions can eat our time so fast the day is already over. I believe their is no real escape so we are all amusing ourselves to death. Technology will not stop and wont stop.
ReplyDelete