I do believe that technology is good, but of course, too much of nearly anything is bad, so we should be careful to make sure that we don't let computers and robots have too much power, just in case there is some kind of robot/computer revolution. lol
I feel like technology is the only way we can advance as a species and improve ourselves. Our brains have the power to learn and create things which can make our lives easier. If we didn't use this as an advantage we wouldn't even be back in the dark ages, we would be much further back.
When it comes to social networking, I can see how it can be unhealthy to replace in person interaction with online. But it is only the natural progression of technology when it comes to social interaction. To make communication faster and more immediate and readily available wherever you go. In a couple hundred years we'll have our Iphones with facebook or whatever social website is popular at the time integrated completely and it will just project our friends' updates onto our retinas...or whatever :P
To me it's a progression that can't be stopped. It's in our nature to do this. It's not like we have the ability to stop it, so why worry? :P
I feel like technology is the only way we can advance as a species and improve ourselves. Our brains have the power to learn and create things which can make our lives easier. If we didn't use this as an advantage we wouldn't even be back in the dark ages, we would be much further back.
When it comes to social networking, I can see how it can be unhealthy to replace in person interaction with online. But it is only the natural progression of technology when it comes to social interaction. To make communication faster and more immediate and readily available wherever you go. In a couple hundred years we'll have our Iphones with facebook or whatever social website is popular at the time integrated completely and it will just project our friends' updates onto our retinas...or whatever :P
To me it's a progression that can't be stopped. It's in our nature to do this. It's not like we have the ability to stop it, so why worry? :P
I agree. We will never stop advancing. And yes, technology will affect our social lives. Before phones and computers people would just hang out and talk person to person, nowaday, communication is just a text away.
I agree. We will never stop advancing. And yes, technology will affect our social lives. Before phones and computers people would just hang out and talk person to person, nowaday, communication is just a text away.
Is there something wrong with sitting down and actually interacting with the people close to us? Indeed it is a great benefit that we can talk to people just about anywhere in the world, but even for that there are other ways than text to communicate. Language is very artful and often times unspoken; the way you can see that your best bud is feeling down is something that you would not see in a text unless it came up in conversation, and sometimes people won't bring it up because they are waiting for someone else to notice... yet, it's still there. Interacting in person is a skill/activity that should not be lost or given up just because technology is advanced enough we can communicate a different way.
That also applies to many other skill as well; for example, just because you can do it on a calculator doesn't mean that you should forget how to get there without one. This may be a minor thing to some people but I hate when I am at a restaurant or a store and people don't know how to calculate tax/tips in their head, or even by writing it out. Technology, of any kind, should never be ingrained in our society so much that if we suddenly lost use of it all most people would be lost and not know how to function.
(btw, I am not exempting myself from this is any way at all. I also, in my opinion, over rely on tech.)
Is there something wrong with sitting down and actually interacting with the people close to us? Indeed it is a great benefit that we can talk to people just about anywhere in the world, but even for that there are other ways than text to communicate.
And why should we assume that we only rely on technology? Do people in school, at the workplace, or at home communicate via say Twitter? I highly doubt so. What social networking gives us is the power to connect to loved ones and friends outside the normal context of when we meet. In the past, after you knock off work, you would hardly spend all your time interacting with your friends; now you can.
This may be a minor thing to some people but I hate when I am at a restaurant or a store and people don't know how to calculate tax/tips in their head, or even by writing it out.
It still is an extremely minor point. It doesn't harm anyone that they were a fraction of a minute slower does it?
Technology, of any kind, should never be ingrained in our society so much that if we suddenly lost use of it all most people would be lost and not know how to function.
Define, function. Define people. If not, you're making broad statements that will not hold up to a test of scrutiny.
In the end you have to weigh the pros and cons. Without technology where would we be today? Technology is a double edged sword, and not everyone is rational enough to use it properly, but that's not denying its usefulness. With so much technology bombarding us today, we can hardly be able to stop the torrent, in the end, I'm guessing everyone will adapt as best as they can. Will we lose part of our ''humanity'' so to speak? Again, it depends on the person itself.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but this discussion is supposed to be on whether or not technology people are too reliant on technology, not if technology is good or bad.
So if someone lives 20 miles from a grocery store and their only car breaks down...
If someone needs to call 911 for a medical emergency and their cell-phone battery is dead...
If an airplane crashes...
These are just a few ways I can come up with off the top of my head about how people are over-reliant on technology.
This should not be a discussion on pros and cons of social networks, it should be about technology over-reliance as the title itself clearly states.
As for my opinion on the actual topic, I think yes, society is very dependent upon modern conveniences. But most of the time, technology pulls through to win the day; I am certainly not complaining about technology and I am not saying that I want to go back to medieval days either.
@AfterBurner0: Yes thank you, I get side tracked sometimes when I mean to say just one thing and then I sometimes end up ranting on things that bother me that may or may not be somewhat related to the topic at hand.
The points you brought up though are very good and actually similar to some of the ones I am using for my speech at school. Earlier in the year I wrote a research paper on this topic which talked about the results, both bad and good, of being as reliant on technology as we are. The big thing that was discussed revolved around the idea that like all good things it must be used in moderation. So yes, I do feel that we are over reliant on technology, but that is not to say that technology is bad.
--------and to anyone that read my post from earlier sorry about my rant that was actually quite rude. -sigh- I need to learn not to try and have, or participate in, a discussion like this when it's four freaking o clock in the morning, I don't think very clearly and can be sorta mean. So many apologies to all of you and do your best to ignore my comment/rant seeing as it really isn't relevant or accurate. and again, sorry. ------------
So yes, I do feel that we are over reliant on technology, but that is not to say that technology is bad.
Yup. Good conclusion.
--------and to anyone that read my post from earlier sorry about my rant that was actually quite rude. -sigh- I need to learn not to try and have, or participate in, a discussion like this when it's four freaking o clock in the morning, I don't think very clearly and can be sorta mean. So many apologies to all of you and do your best to ignore my comment/rant seeing as it really isn't relevant or accurate. and again, sorry. ------------
hahaha. no prob. I too sometimes find it incredibly difficult to not rant and complain and get frustrated about everything.
I think that we are way to overdependent on technology. Yeah it helps our lives, but when the power goes out, food supplies dwindle (they would anyway but people don't know what to do with their fridge sometimes), people get extremely bored because they are addicted to TV or the computer. Now a days, people talk via e-mail, no longer face to face or over the phone. I'm not saying technology is bad, I love it, but we do tend to be to overdependent on it.
Now a days, people talk via e-mail, no longer face to face or over the phone.
I love it when people say such things.. well apart from the fact that you cannot 'talk' per e-mail. I mean, sure, we use technology a lot, and I don't know how people around you behave, but I know of no people who don't talk to their friends anymore from time to time. All my friends still talk normally, and surely would know what to do without technology. Personally, I spend a lot of time on the PC but it's more because it's available, I never really miss it when we're away. And it's the case for a whole lot of people out there.
Then again there are cases of people who are totally dependent on technologies, but they have a common problem that is known since Ye Old times: addiction. If by saying we're too reliant on technologies, you really mean that some people don't know how to approach modern mass medias reasonably, then I'm agreeing.
Another food for thought: lately in Russia, a few new-borns who were under artificial ventilation died because there were several blackouts in the Hospital. Sounds horrible, right? Well, those babies wouldn't even have made it this far without technology, and if not for the blackouts they'd owe their life to the machines.
Technology is a risk, sure, and we rely much on it, sure. But we'd not necessarily be better off without it.
