Jon Kofas

Many times our fears of what is unknown to us are often the strongest fears we hold as human beings. However, what if it was the fear of things we already know that were the most powerful and influential in our lives? In modern society, many hold within themselves a deep-seated fear of the technology that the world has become so revolved around. Additionally, it has recently become debatable whether or not this technology has become a hindrance to members of the so-called iGeneration, born between 1995 and 2012, who have grown up in a world surrounded by technology. Truly, the members of older generations, including millennials who have had themselves split off from the apparent technology obsessed generation of the youngest millennials, have expressed their concern as to whether or not these vast differences in generations have to do with the unhealthy use of technology. Among those to have analyzed this phenomenon is writer Jean M. Twenge who in her article, “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?,” utilizes the study of a modern 13 year old girl named Athena to exemplify a plethora of determinants that technology has imposed on young people and the slow deterioration of everything from independence and social skills to a decline mental health due to technology use. Many of Twenge’s statements reveal the belief that many members of iGen are unequipped to handle adulthood and are even less happy because of the technology that has played a significant role in their lives

Kurt Vonnegut’s “EPICAC” demonstrates a tragic irony on how a machine’s obtained humanity causes his own self-destruction, and become so human to the point of inhumanity. From the point the narrator discovers a communication method with “EPICAC”, he is found to possess the traits one would find in the perfect human. From the narrator’s words, “he wasn’t noble and great and brilliant. He was all of those things,” and prays, “God rest his souls.” The narrator’s accurate perception of EPICAC is quite different from the start of the story compared to the end of the story. This change esteemed from EPICAC’s aid to the narrator in the form of magnificent, and emotional poems. Which, in the end, allows him to reach his goal of marrying Pat.

Uncertainty of what seemed the clear distinction between the simulated and the real: No clear line between the artificial and the real

Jonathan Kozol, Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools is an intense expose of unjust conditions in educating America’s children. Today’s society of living conditions, poverty, income, desegregation and political issues have forced inadequate education to many children across the country. Kozol discusses major reasons for discrepancies in schools: disparities of property taxes, racism and the conflict between state and local control. Kozol traveled to public schools researching conditions and the level of education in each school. He spoke with teachers, students, principals, superintendents and government officials to portray a clear picture of the

The use of technology has catalyzed society into an era that is increasingly interconnected yet impersonal at the same time. Despite technology’s endless list of assets, many fail to acknowledge its shortcomings when mentioning what is lost as a result of using it. Although in “Great to Watch” by Maggie Nelson, she is not afraid to share her skepticism of technology, as well as the role it plays in desensitizing individuals on a day-to-day basis. The internet is an invaluable resource to many because it is a public domain for sharing ideas, opinions, and knowledge that any and everyone can have access to. In a sense, it does not restrict what someone may see or do, and this can either be a good thing or a bad thing. The booming use of new media

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.

Technology may not be everything it seems. Although worldwide use of various devices and applications has revolutionized the way we live and our culture in a powerful and helpful way, there are many ramifications to be considered. The consequence to this revolution of culture and way of life is carefully observed and portrayed by M.T. Anderson in his novel Feed. Anderson uses the literary art of satire to create characters that are exaggerated versions of people today to reveal their uncontrollable obsession with technology.

In many dystopian novels, technology is viewed as a benefit for a society. Today many people believe it has benefitted us but it has controlled our lives. People no longer have face to face conversations or make phone calls. The use social media to get in contact with their loved ones or simply send a text message. You walk out onto the

The evolution of technology is constantly occurring in order to be more helpful in society. Therefore, a new gadget comes out within months or a year because of how it’s constantly evolving and how clients always ask for more. Andrew Sullivan wrote an essay in 2005 and talked the once popular iPod. In his essay, “Society Is Dead, We Have Retreated into the iWorld,” Andrew Sullivan uses the rhetorical triangle, visual imagery, and one of the rhetorical appeals, logos, to achieve his purpose of how technology has impacted human interactions.

James kofi annan has worked tirelessly to fight against child slavery.When James was Sold to the fishermen into being a child slave,to now helping child slaves become free and get an education.

One of the many ways our world is similar to the dystopian world of Fahrenheit 451 is in the way technology affects our relationships. Technology, especially for younger people,

Jerzy Kosinski was born in Poland in 1933 to Russian parents who had fled the revolution. He was separated from his family when the Nazis invaded in 1939. For six years he wandered form village to village scorned by East European gypsies who feared his hawk like face and penetrating eyes. He survived German terror by his wits and he was struck dumb from the shock that he underwent from this six-year period of wandering. He was mute from age nine to fourteen.(New Yorker)

Technological dystopias have become a common setting within writings, due to the technological advancements society continuously makes each year. The future can never be certain, and as humans progressively advance, so does the fear that people lose control over their creations. Two recently created dystopias rely on the development of technology as the destruction of society, as through the invasion of privacy. The Circle by David Eggers and “The Entire History of You”, episode three of season one of Black Mirror focus on the societal impact of advancing technology, and the potential destruction of privacy due to it. The technology developed desensitizes human connection and interactions, which is what is beginning to happen within

Artificial nature is a special sort of human nature that is designed to execute different jobs. From simulations to artificial intelligent operating systems, these are technologies that are made by humans to help humans. Simulations help us search ourselves in ways that can be otherwise bothersome in real life. A simulation like how Turkle puts it “is a place to explore the self” people can experience what it would feel like if we choose a different pass than the one they have. A simulation can’t of course count for all consequences of people’s actions in real life, nevertheless, it can be a good estimate of what it would be similar to. Simulations can also create human connections that were not possible before, like for example, an internet

Digital communication through today’s technology is empowering our society and strengthening human relationships through connecting us in ways that are impossible through organic human to human interaction. This exceptionally innovative technology was once only imaginable in science fiction literature, and is now a reality for most of humanity. We use this form of communication on a daily basis throughout the planet. We rarely stop to think about how wondrous and seemingly magical this advanced technology is, and we seldom ponder on how this new form of communication impacts us as a culture. Advanced digital communication not only enables and emboldens us, but could be potentially harming and hindering us as a culture as well as socially