Pros And Cons Of New Technology By Neil Postman

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.

Technology is an essential part of the American life and it's constantly changing with the newer generations. A few people view technology as a positive addition to life while others believe it is a negative thing and will take over their lives. Nicholas G. Carr a well known American, the author of The Shallows a novel about the various distractions that come with internet and how people are losing key skills. In the start of the book the negative effects of modern technology on the masses. Carr’s argument is effective and flawed for various reasons such as don't include the helpful advances have improved education, medical field and business.

David Suzuki supports his argument with specific examples and he rationalises each one; however, he overlooks the important detail that technology is beneficial to our society. Throughout the essay the author repeatedly mentions the negative effects technology has, but he never provides an argument for the advantages of new innovations. Although technology may have its faults, we depend on it as a society. As Suzuki states in his essay, “Once technology is in place, it becomes impossible to do without it and we can’t go back to doing things the old way”. Without a constant cycle of new innovations and technology, as a society we would digress. Everyday we depend on technology, it is an imperative factor to surviving. The numerous benefits of technology are endless: improved environmental understandings, cancer research and cures, as well as a better economy. Since there are no explicit references to the advantages,

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

Technology has changed remarkably over the last one hundred years. First, the way that we use books has changed. Another way is the way we play games. The way we communicate with each other has changed drastically over the last century as well. At this rate, with technology growing every day, we can see the “new” technology that we have right now is already being replaced with something else that is “new.”

Companies produce new technologies that help americas new and upcoming workforce. New tools are made to help the medical field be more precise and effective in their treatments. New systems of communication and travel have become quickly more available. People have even said that in about four years humankind might be able to live on mars. In our age a new phone comes out every few months, allowing better forms of communication. As we look to the future we see that the tech will really be “shocking.”

There are many different stances one could take on the subject “Unimpeded technological progress is good for society.”. One could agree with Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove, and Bradbury’s The Veldt and claim that technology is dangerous and will inevitably fall into the wrong hands one day. Another stance would be with Spike Jonze’s Her, which brings forth the opinion that technology is both good and bad. Finally, one’s opinion could lie with George Saunder’s “Offloading for Mrs. Schwartz” and claim technology is a good thing. While I can see where both Saunders and Kubrick are coming from, my own opinion is more closely represented by Jonze. I believe that technology can be both good and bad, and that its rapid growth can be both helpful and harmful to those around us.

Imagine the impact technological innovations have had on society? How much did technology influence society a decade ago, and how much does it influence society now? Technology was created from humans to become a more efficient specie. Although technology has advanced society with respect to technology and efficiency, it has also created problems not previously seen because of the use of technology. Edward Tenner, a writer and technology consultant, wrote an article titled “Another Look Back, and a Look Ahead” published in 1996. In his article Tenner argues, through the use of the rhetorical appeal ethos, compare and contrast, and cause and effect, that society is advancing at an alarming rate and suggests a “retreating from intensity”

After reading Sven Birkerts’ Into the Electronic Millennium, I have to say that I don’t agree with his arguments at all. For me new technology is the future of mankind and it will evolve into something more superior and magical than newspapers. Whenever I have to do some research on a topic I usually surf the internet instead of going to the library and finding books which is less efficient. However, I have to say he has some really good points that I can’t disagree on. I believe technology is going to be the key to future and will help us effectively.

A man and his wife ride down the road in their horse and buggy, they are going on their monthly trip to town. The buggy is slow and the must take many breaks for their horses to eat and drink, it takes all day. A man and his wife ride down the road in their new automobile, they are going into town for the morning to attend Church. A Man sits in the library reading through dozens of large book looking for the perfect pieces of information for his essay. A woman sits down at a desk, opens her laptop and searches for a quote, easily finding the perfect quote quickly and conveniently. Technology is always changing and improving, sacrificing negatives for advantages and sometimes advantages can bring new downsides, this does not make said technology bad, just simply different.

how can we make it better yet it's hard to without anywhere to start. So we innovate

Techno-optimist or techno-pessimist? That is the question. Technology throughout time has no doubt changed our way of life. Travelling to destinations quicker, curing new diseases, or figuring out how to cease a wide famine are examples of how technology has made advances over time. The solutions that scientists create spark a tool that others cannot live without. But what if these technologies bring out negative effects rather than their desired purpose? Sometimes, innovators create new inventions that bring unintended consequences. It could range from less communication face to face, side effects from new medicines, or pollute the earth’s atmosphere.

Stating in Neil Postman’s words, “Technological change is neither additive nor subtractive. It is ecological. I mean “ecological” in the same sense as the word is used by environmental scientists. One significant change generates total change. If you remove the caterpillars from a given habitat, you are not left with the same environment minus caterpillars: you have a new environment, and you have reconstituted the conditions of survival; the same is true if you add caterpillars to an environment that has had none. This is how the ecology of media works as well. A new technology does not add or subtract something. It changes everything.” (― Neil Postman, Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to

In the book Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology, Postman explains the evolution of human dependency on technology. He starts with the tool-using culture in which tools did not cause a change in culture, but were created to either solve a problem or create more efficient religious devotion. The next level, according to Postman, is technocracy. In this stage, tools are bidding to become the culture. And lastly, in a technopoly, tools have become the culture. Postman believes this transition is appalling because it changes the thought worlds of large groups of people. True, the thought worlds are changing due to the transition from one technology type to another Although, technology changes the way people think it is false to say that the basic desires and cultures of people are changing. This change in culture presented by Postman does not give evidence that people’s values change. People are living in other ways. Expressing themselves through other thought worlds. The technologies were only created because it is human nature for people to want to advance, striving for progress. People have been doing so since the stone age.

Neil Postman (1998) looks at technological change and its social effects, he suggests for every advancement