Essay on Technology: Friend or Foe?

Everyday we hear about the astounding technological advances discovered year after year. Thirty years ago, who would have thought that we would soon be able to communicate with a person half way around the world through a computer? The possibilities of technology are endless and beyond belief, but are these possibilities always beneficial in society, or are they causing more harm then help? Authors Pete Hamill, Grant Fjermedal and Roger Rosenblat take a look at certain forms of technology and the beneficial and detrimental aspects that have and will come from its advances.

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

These days, technology seems to be almost everywhere we go. With advancements to cell phones, computers, video games, cars, and our iPods, our lives have become much easier than ever before. Technology is made because the society always wants to find more efficient methods of doing certain tasks. Without technology, mankind would not have discovered things that the majority of us now know, such as the world, animals, science, and the like. However, the society doesn’t gain much benefit, besides their school and work duties. Technology has become a necessity for us as a whole, although it definitely changes our mental habits. Due to advancements in technology, the United States is becoming more dependent on it, which is causing the

Mom turns on the television and sets the table, dad comes home from work, checks his personal digital assistant for an email he’s been waiting on, while his daughter sits at the table finishing up a “thumb lashing” on her cell phone that she is giving to her “BFF” because she just failed her history test. This scenario has become the norm in homes across America today. It’s the digital age, technology is booming at such a rapid pace we cannot even wear out our devices before the newer up-to-date models arrive. Technology has negative effects on society, because it is causing our critical thinking and social interaction skills to decline, it is disrupting the American family unit, and it has caused us to become a distracted society that is

Postman divides history into three types. He begins his argument with discussion of tool-using cultures. In these cultures, technology has an "ideological bias" to action that is not thought about by users. He says that this

Postman believes that by technology giving us instant information it is forcing out culture to suffer from information glut, taking the meaning and control out of information; “information has become a form of garbage, not only incapable of answering the most fundamental human questions but barely useful in providing coherent direction to the solution of even mundane problems (Postman 69).” Postman explains how society got to this point in his stages of information revolution, starting with the printing press, expansion of schools, however, he does so in a very black and white manner. “There were several reasons for the rapid growth of the common school, but none was more obvious than that it was a necessary response to the anxieties and confusion aroused by information on the loose (Postman 62).” As seen here he does not really back up his points. In his second stage of information

Humanity has far surpassed anything that was seen as impossible. However, as society progressed did we get distracted on the way? Did we seem to lose track of the important things that mattered in our lives? In the mid-1980s Neil Postman wrote a book called Amusing Ourselves to Death which talks about how technology and media has reshaped our culture and he makes predictions on how it will shape our future. The purpose of this paper is to update Postman's perspective to the present. Throughout the last chapter of the book Postman talks about how technology has distracted us, and how it has changed our social lives. This paper will provide information on how Postman's perspective examples connect to society today, and how many of us are influenced by it without even noticing it.

In today’s world, as technology is advancing around us, some of the major effects that can be seen are medical technology advances, ease of communication with the growing technology, and the negative effect on our body.

The clock is ticking, the work is piling up, and with only a few hours to go before sunrise you stop and realize that you have just read some fifty pages and absorbed almost nothing. Some would agree when I say that this situation epitomizes one of the common problems of the Net Generation. With the help of the Internet, not only has every aspect of life gotten faster and more efficient, but it has changed the way people process information and perform tasks. In addition, while technology does have its benefits, the extensive use of the internet is affecting the way people think.

If you were to ask somebody what a computer was sixty years ago they would look at you look at you puzzled. Now days it is hard to find a household or office in America that does not contain at least one personal computer. With all of this information at our finger tips, we have to ask ourselves if we are becoming too dependent on technology. Imagine if we were to wake up tomorrow with all electronic devices disabled. Everybody’s life would be impacted in one way or another. We would lose what has become the largest portal for communication. We would also lose countless information that has

People very often debate whether technology is good or bad. Many people believe that technology can only cause harm to their lives and society, while many others strongly defend the technologies which have made their lives much more leisurely and enriching than it could have been several hundred years ago. In my opinion, both of these views are correct to an extent, but I also believe that what should be examined is not whether technology in its self is good or bad, but rather how we as humans use it.For decades now, television has been accused of contributing to the dissolution of the American family and the destruction of the minds of those who watch it. However, although the TV has been involved in this, the problem roots not with

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.

As far back as I can remember my family and I have taken advantage of technology. The types of technology have changed over the years, along with our usage and dependence on it. Technology is a fundamental part of our lifestyle, including both work and play. What is interesting is that we also have many friends who use very little technology in their day-to-day living. This drastic difference makes one wonder how necessary the technology really is, and whether or not our dependence on it is healthy in the long run. It is really easy to just get caught up in using technology without thinking about the pros and cons.

Do personal technologies like phones, iPods, and computers connect or disconnect us? The opinions vary from person to person and generation to generation. Two opinions that we’ll look at specifically are from Andrew Sullivan, a blogger and columnist for the Sunday Times of London, and Anna Akbari, a professor at New York University. When looked at briefly, Sullivan and Akbari’s views seem to be like the opposite sides of the same coin. Sullivan argues from a more personal standpoint that personal technology shuts us out from the world. Akbari, on the other hand, sees technology and our personal devices as a way to open the world up to us and provides facts and results from professional studies that

Remember the days of the Old West? The women walked around with their parasols or rode in a horse drawn carriage and the men rode fast and furious on their horses. Everything you needed was right there in town: the saloon, the general store, and the barber. When one needed to get somewhere, they would walk. If they needed to travel far, there were steam-powered locomotives. As towns and cities grew larger, it was not so convenient to walk everywhere. There was a need for a machine that could get us around to where we had to go. Technology was becoming a bigger part of the times and the machine we now know today as the automobile was invented.