This week we discussed our concerns about our dependence on technology. It was a really interesting discussion because everyone has different opinions about it. Some people think that our dependence on technology isn’t harming anyone while others think it is. I’m stuck in the middle but leaning more towards the dependence as a bad thing.
One of the concerns that we discussed was a person’s loss of control/sense of self. We rely on technology so much, for example, we can’t do simple math problems without using a calculator. People also create faux people on the internet through MUDs. Some would argue that if creating this person on the internet helps them than why look down at them, why think it’s this horrible thing. I’m torn but if the person does not become dependent on this faux person then it isn’t troublesome.
We also discussed the difference between regulated technology and unregulated technology. Regulated technology is hearing aids or contacts, good technology. Unregulated technology is the internet, bad technology. I think that people rely on the internet so much that it has become a drug, bad technology. For example, when dating online people say they do this because they don’t have the nerve to talk to someone at a bar. If people continue to date online because they feel insecure or don’t think they can talk to someone in public these people will never change, they will never evolve. They find that dating online works so they will always use it. It’s like if you think you can’t fall asleep without a sleeping pill, even if eventually you can, your mind will always think this, and you will become dependent on the sleeping pill. It is the same for the internet (dating online).
The same is true about anything we use the internet for. I always hear people say that they are addicted to facebook or myspace or u tube. The internet has changed the way we live, some good and some bad. The good would be we are able to find information faster; the bad would be we have become so dependent on it that we are addicted. I wonder if anyone can go one day without checking there e-mail (if checking it just to check it) or going on facebook. It would be interesting to see how many people can go one day without using the internet for enjoyment.
2 comments:
I think that it is kind of interesting that people cant go one day without checking their email or using the internet in some way. But i think that, just as someone brought up in class, that this is just like a pen when it first was invented. I'm sure people thought the same thing about the new technology, but now everyone uses pens on a daily basis. It might seem out of line now, but when the internet isn't so new, it will probably seem like nothing.
I definitely think I could go quite a while without using the internet for enjoyment. Without the internet, I would turn to TV, or books, or some earlier technology designed for entertainment. No matter how technologically advanced we are, we will always have some method of entertainment. If the internet is any different from the other forms of entertainment, it must be more entertaining. The only danger is if we can't trust ourselves to have within our grasp something very entertaining...
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