Bowling Alone Summary

Technology has always been a controversial subject between conservative people and innovators. Some people believe that it is a great tool to connect cultures and improve education and innovation in our society today, but others view it as a menace in our lives. “Growing Up Tethered” by Sherry Turkle and “George Orwell...Meet Mark Zuckerberg” by Lori Andrews both view technology as a dangerous tool. They believe in the many drawbacks of technology and the harm it can do to our lives with no explanation of the positive effects it has had on our society. “Our Future Selves” by Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen plays the role of a positive look at technology and its role in our lives today. It gives examples of how advancing technology helps us and improves so many peoples’s lives. We can use Schmidt and Cohen’s essay as a lens to view the other two texts and gain a different understanding of what they are writing about.

As technology is advancing, it is ruining our reputations and everyday lives because we use it too much. “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury is a story of parents who use too much technology to spoil their two kids which rely on technology and use it to kill their own parents. The Atlantic is an article on how technology has changed the concept of the community and how it affects people’s daily lives in mostly negative ways. In both sources, humans rely on technology too much, having a negative effect.

Ever since technology began so prominent in the modern world, can anyone remember going outside for more than 30 minutes and not see a cell phone or computer? Probably not, as these pieces of technology have become so ingrained in people’s lives, no one wants to leave their home without still being connected. And there is no reason to, as friends, family, and strangers share the same sentiments. Unplugging from technology is not only a decision people don’t make for personal reasons, it simply isn’t conducive to a productive life, as many people’s work and social lives wouldn’t be the same, if exist at all, without being connected to other people or the internet with just a single touch.

Robert D. Putnam, a political scientist and professor, contends in his essay titled “Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital” that there has been a decline in the social capital over the last several decades. He names that are different factors to explain this, including changes in the workforce, mobility, demographics, and technology. However, mostly it is a change in the

Many scholars believe that falling civic organization membership and the general decline in our Social Capital has negatively impacted voter turnout.” (Kaufmann. 145) To summarize, people in the United States are “less involved” with other groups and other people as a whole, so it is only logical to feel they would be less involved or interest in our political and governmental future.

As day progresses so as technology. In the modern society high technology devices have become indispensable to human. Electronic machines have gradually been starting to replace human work. At a factory work place, restaurant kitchen, and household laundry rooms, the improvement of technology can be seen anywhere. Mobile phone, which has only become prevalent in a few decades, can be found in anyone’s jeans pocket. However, is this situation an evolution to a new era or an over-reliance on technology. Sherry Turkle, the author of “The Empathy Diaries” expresses her concern on modern generation overusing electronic devices. She points out her main argument that the situation has deteriorated to the extend where children are losing their empathy and ability to social. Turkle, promoting the importance of conversation, not only criticize young generations for being overly obsess with electronic devices, but also oppose the ones who understand the the significance of conversation for not passing down the knowledge. It is clear that in Turkle’s perspective the improvement of technology has brought up issues that do not exist ever before. Despite that the benefit form electronic devices are inevitable the problems it brings about can never be look down. On the condition that people do not have enough self-control to overcome with the tempt form high technology devices can not only bring human short term benefits but lifetime long harm with its overly thoughtful benefits.

“Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master,” said Christian Lous Lane. Technology is a powerful tool and as society continues to grow, the controversy over technology will become more of an argued topic. Two stories, “Harrison Bergeron” and “The Pedestrian”, demonstrate the negative impact of technology on individuality.

Robert Putnam's basic thesis is that there is a decline in civic engagement in urban cities. He goes on to explore different probable factors that are causing the decline in civic engagement. First off, he dichotomizes civic engagement into two categories: machers and schmoozers. Machers and schmoozers are people who engage in formal kinds of civic engagement (following politics) and informal kinds of civic engagement (hanging out with friends) respectively.

Author Neil Postman’s main argument in his book “Technopoly: A Surrender of Culture to Technology” is not between humanists and scientists but between technology and people. In today’s society technology has become accepted as a friend, a helper, something needed. Postman argues that “the uncontrolled growth of technology destroys the vital sources of our humanity. It creates a culture without a moral foundation. It undermines certain mental processes and social relations that make human life worth living Postman XII).” Technology according to Postman, creates a culture with no moral foundation, a culture that undermines certain mental processes and social relations that make human life interactive. Technology is a friend but, it can also be

For the last couple of years’ technology has augmented our everyday life. Alex Williams, a reporter for the New York Times and an editor of the New York Magazine, would strongly agree with this. Williams believes technology has changed the way we live, and the way we interact with each other. Schools are loaning iPads, tablets, and laptops to students so they can immerse their self’s in a world of cyber learning. Teenagers are drooling over their cell phones for hours upon hours, ready to text back the boy in their Algebra class. Parents are preoccupying their little kids with games on their phones. Nevertheless, this is making life easier and simpler. Alex Williams hypothecates that technology might actually have “beneficial [attributes]

In the book The End of Absence: Reclaiming What We’ve Lost in a World of Constant Connection, Michael Harris argues that as technology progresses society loses the experience of lacking. He continues to illustrate this point by saying we will eventually reach a time when true solitude is an outdated concept. Harris attempts to answer what exactly it means to be a part of the last generation that remembers life with and without the internet. Within each chapter, Harris discusses the fast-paced technological revolution with three themes becoming prevalent: Authenticity,

In today's society there is no escape from technology. We are completely submerged in our iPhone, ipads, computers, and gaming systems. These gadgets give us the opportunity to be connected to each other and the rest of the world at all times. But, this is not a glorious step in history. Technology blinds us from the real world. As John Tudor said, “Technology makes it possible for people to gain control over everything, except technology.” We may run our lives with the help of our iPhones and computers, but do these forms of technology in turn control us? At first glance these new advances are greater steps to making our lives easier. But, when examined closely a large portion of technology is the cause of many problems in our society.

It contained experiments performed by credible scientists of this field and scholarly quotes from experts within the realm of this extent. Its main focus is to portray that technology is becoming an addiction that is rapidly spreading throughout the entire world, causing us to become impatient and forgetful. One of the investigations was an experiment with a college student who couldn’t use any technology for one day, and she reported feeling very lonely and secluded from her life. She said “Although I go to a school with thousands of students, the fact that I was not able to communicate with anyone via technology was almost unbearable.” This goes to show how much of a toll technology has taken in our lives. People can barely survive without the comfort and luxury and technology in life. Nicki Dowling, a clinical psychologist who led a study on technology dependence, prefers calling it “Internet dependence”

Technology is used on a daily basis to accomplish specific tasks or interests. Modern technology increases human capabilities and this technology has evolved with years. Technology simplifies life in so many ways and everyone defines technology in their own way. They’re new types of technology on the market, this technology simplifies our daily lives. They’re endless demands as consumers of technology, people use technology to accomplish simple tasks every day. Technology’s used in business, education, communication, healthcare, entertainment and so much more. There’s an unquestionable impact of technology on society. Whether considering the plow, vaccinations, or the internet, technology has had a huge impact on society. While not every advance benefits society, there’s many positive effects of technology. Modern technology makes life more convenient now more than ever. Modern technologies like broadband internet makes it possible to access relevant information at any time anywhere. Today’s technology makes it simple for students to learn from anywhere through online education and mobile education, which improves the education system. It also improves the health system, most hospitals have implemented modern technology in surgical rooms, which may reduce the number of mistakes made by doctors. Modern technology’s more convenient than when it was simpler because, it provides an easy way to access information, improves the education system, and it improves the health system.

Over the past few years, technology has become a significant part of people’s every day lives. It helps people connect with those far away, but in the process, disconnects themselves from others close with them. Technology has helped improve the lives of many people through transportation and more, but overall has torn us apart. The constant usage of technology has people’s eyes glued to a small screen; they often forget to communicate with those around them.