If A Time Traveller Saw A Smartphone And As Technology Gets Better Will Society Get Worse

The world has changed greatly in the last few centuries due to remarkable inventions. In the article, “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?,” Jean M. Twenge argues that the smartphone in particular has made a significant impact on the world, specifically in adolescents growing up at this time. Twenge’s argument that cell phones have drastically changed the way today’s adolescents think and behave is not entirely effective because she overlooks certain aspects in her claim that teenagers are physically safer than ever. She also only includes one piece of evidence that somewhat contributes to her claim that smartphones are decreasing the mental health of teenagers. Additionally, her substantial presumptions that decreased social ability results

Modern technology has seen many debates about its usefulness, its relevance, and its impact on society. Two main parties have bound together, one arguing that the impact of modern technological advancements has had a positive effect on society, while the other side believes that it only makes things worse. In their argumentative pieces, Charles Seife and Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen address the issue of technology in the modern world, although their arguments vary drastically, through the use of various rhetorical devices.

Technology, is it a killer of our society, or does it give society life? In the movie WALL-E, the writers explore a futuristic universe where earth is no longer inhabited by humans because of over consumption.To survive, the remaining humans live in a utopian spaceship where everything is done for them by robots. In the short story “There Will Come Soft Rains,” a technologically advanced house fulfills the everyday needs and tasks of a futuristic family even after they are gone. Through their literary works, both Bradbury and Disney-Pixar demonstrate that technology can have both positive and negative effects on society.

In his essay, “Five Things We Need to Know About Technological Change,” Neil Postman brings up a plethora of ideas on the topic of our ever-changing landscape in the technological world, discussing at length the problems of technology and culture. In his first point, Postman states that “technology giveth, and technology taketh away” (Postman, 27). His argument insists that in a culture swept up in technology, humans do not stop and ask questions regarding the possible detriments of new inventions. He continues on to say that though technology favours some individuals, it may harm others, or neglect a group of people entirely. In spite of this, humans continue to use and expand upon technologies as they emerge. Next, the author discusses how

“In the last 50 years, up to 100,000 Americans lost their lives due to inactivity leading to some sort of conditional disease such as heart disease [including the laziness within people of society]” (Wise 12). So many people have died from becoming lazy, doing nothing but go on their phones, devices, rather than doing everyday things. Technology has changed the way society approaches life, always depending on it rather than themselves and others. The society today consists of nothing but TV screens, telephone, smartphones, iPads, and items the 19th century would consider a dream to lay hands on. A book written by Bradbury presents lack of effort people put into their lives and society; Bradbury predicts how the future will become later on in the society. Becoming more similar to the laziness and ignorance in the novel, Fahrenheit 451, the society today struggles the society today struggles with dependency on technology which results to lack of social interactions with one another and failure in becoming literate with books.

Technology today has advanced and impacted our way of living and the dependence on it has become a natural habit for our society. People today depend on their phones for numerous things such as, talking, messaging, driving directions, surfing the web or even to update their current Facebook status. Many people say that since they rely so heavily on technology, it has been known to weaken our society’s ability to open a book or newspaper to find information instead of looking at your phone. Technology has become a crutch for our generation today and without it we would fail. There have been inferences that technology will ruin us and lead us to extinction. In Ray Bradbury’s short story “There Will Come Soft Rains”, he purveys speculation that technology is the cause of downfall in society and that nature will outlast man’s creation.

“More than three billion people worldwide now use the internet (Time), and 80 percent of them access if from their smartphones” (Smart Insights). A smartphone is a mobile phone that performs many of the functions of a computer, typically having a touchscreen interface, and much more. There is an abundant amount of smartphone brands out there in the world and while they all cost different prices, they all perform the same job. Each person uses their smartphone for various reasons, whether it’s for work or to make calls or texts. Smartphones have changed society in various ways, both good and bad. Although countless individuals think that smartphones have ruined American society, smartphones have actually benefited society because of more safety precautions, information on hand, and entertainment.

Do you think that living in a technical world would destroy society? Well, in Bradbury's novel, Fahrenheit 451, technology is very advanced and seems to get people's attention. "You're not important. You're not anything" (Bradbury 163). Fahrenheit 451 is explained as a dystopian literature. Such literature portrays an imaginary world where misguided attempts to create a utopia, or a socially and politically perfect place, results in “large scale human misery." (Critique by Michael M. Levy) This quote makes you realize that technology is taking over humans and the world has to do something about it. By creating an “utopia”, Fahrenheit 451 requires the government to take away citizen’s rights and freedoms to create the perfect society.

Nathan Jurgenson effectively convinces his audience of the impact that technology has caused to our current society by using a variety of rhetorical tactics to prove as well as convince his audience. Throughout his article, he uses a variety of rhetorical tactics, for example, Pathos, Logos, and Ethos by giving strong ethical background information to prove his argument. Jurgenson argues that in our current era is overly exposed to technology. Technology has taken over the typical American. We have come to the point that we have to take our cellular devices everywhere we go in order to feel complete.

He references the story of the Oji-Cree people, nomads who relied very little on technology. It was not until the nineteen-sixties, when technology, such as engines and electricity, was introduced to them. After this advancement, the threat of dying in the winter due to starvation was eliminated; however, obesity and diabetes emerged throughout the population. This raises the question of whether the technology caused more harm than good. He presents this story to model how our society is not much different, “When it comes to technologies, we mainly want to make things easy. Not to be bored. Oh, and maybe to look a bit younger” (Wu 4). Technology, while intended to help us, allows us to be lazy as a society, which introduces a whole new set of problems. He furthers his point by saying that we are “comfort-seeking missiles” (Wu 4). This theory causes the reader to reflect on themselves to notice if they have fallen victim to the misuse of technology. By inserting this study into his article Wu is able to persuade the reader to agree with

In 1915 the talented Albert Einstein introduced the General Theory of Relativity, which people still use today and helped reform many other inventions. What is ironic is that the man who helped revolutionize technology also said “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.”(Albert Einstein) This statement is especially true in the novel Fahrenheit 451 written by Ray Bradbury. Where technology slowly created ignorant society, false family connections and people to lose the value of human life. In other words technology eventually decreased humanity.

In the book, Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury predicts the ways of present-day American Culture and presents to the readers his fears of what the American society may become over time. Facets of his prediction appear in the everyday lives of American citizens, with certain aspects of Bradbury’s fictional world sounding astoundingly similar to America and its society. Bradbury predicts what the negative influences of technology can do for a society. With this negative impact, humans have deteriorated in nearly all aspects of day-to-day life, including intelligence, brain capacity, humanity and much more. The author emphasizes many of these aspects, which are a result of negative technological influences; society may become extremely impulsive and inhumane.

1) The novel “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury and “The Case for Boredom”, a podcast by Manoush Zomorodi, are both perfect examples of the way technology could be preventing people to grow and learn about themselves. 2) Technology prevents people from being alone with their thoughts, and as a consequence lose touch with their emotions, which Zomorodi and Bradbury point out in their works.

The evolution of technology has changed society in both positive and negative ways. People all over the world use and benefit from modern technology. Technology has simplified the access to many tools people need in education, medicine, communication, transportation, etc. However, using it too often has its drawbacks as well. In most cases, the time of finishing projects is cut by more than half with the help of technology. Many people do not realize that technology has its negative affects society as well, and its rapid advances has changed life for worse in a number of different ways.

Technology is continuously developing and has begun creating shortcuts for the American society. As a society we need to find a balance between our technological use and our everyday life. In my opinion, society has become too dependent on technology. The more advanced technology becomes, the more it seems to be gaining control over our lives. Even though technology is offering society many beneficial qualities; it also is causing many negative effects to occur. Technology is affecting society socially, mentally, and physically.