The Pros And Cons Of Digital Technology

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.

At one point not that long ago it was only possible to update a Facebook status from a phone if you subscribed to the text messaging service offered by the site that would allow you to text in an update. There was no such thing as scrolling through your newsfeed as you rode the subway to work or waited for class to start. In his essay “The IRL Fetish”, Nathan Jurgenson talks about the spread of technology saying: “Each moment is oversaturated with digital potential: Texts, status updates, photos, check-ins, tweets, and e-mails are just a few taps away or pushed directly to your buzzing and chirping pocket computer- anachronistically still called a ‘phone’” (Jurgenson). Here he brings up an interesting point about the role advancing technology

In the article “The IRL Fetish” by Nathan Jergenson, is a powerful essay that demonstrates the idea of this so called “Fetish” that we have with technology today. Within this essay Jergenson uses specific word choice in his essay to strengthen his argument about being connected. He uses quotes from other speakers and writers to get his points acrossed about this fetish that we have in our society right now. Finally, Jergenson also talks about the little victories that we have with technology, like “logging off”, and the irrational fear that we have about being disconnected.

Technology is both a blessing and a curse. It can make the lives of people better or it can completely make everything inconvenient. Technology has gone from something that was once complex to something used on the daily. It, in fact, may be destroying and taking over society. This idea is proposed in both “By the Waters of Babylon” by Stephen Vincent Benet and “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury. Bradbury, however, presents the most disturbing and cruel views on technology and society.

It is no question that technology is changing people and the way we live. Almost every person depends on technology in some way to get through the day. Weather its smartphones, washing machines, toasters, or refrigerators, all of these common technologies were invented to increase our productivity and make life easier. The underlining question in this essay is to highlight the concerns of technology and prove that people are being blurred in their connections to digital reality and physical reality, work life and family, and our dependency on technology.

Technology has become one of the prime conduits in our intellectual society. As humans, our brains have adapted to the constant ebb and flow of information. Does this mean that our species is losing cognitive abilities, like intellectual and problem solving capabilities? Or is it simply a remodeling of the mind? Nicholas Carr presents the idea that people are relying too much on digital technology and that our brains are changing- potentially for the worse- because of it. Clive Thompson on the other hand, writes about how this, so-called, Screen Age is allowing students to evolve their learning and working styles from the traditional ones. Both authors present a valid argument in attempting to answer these questions, but when it comes to cognitive abilities, digital technology is not degrading our minds so much as it is forcing them to adapt, along with the rest of the society.

It is the age of technology. The world is constantly undergoing changes and developments with the passage of time. Simultaneously, technology too is evolving at a faster rate than before. There is no doubt that the world has been benefitted from the constantly evolving technology and the lives of many people have changed a lot. It has facilitated transport as well as communication across the world. We owe much to technology. But each and every thing has their pros and cons. Technology too has its own disadvantages.

The rapid expansion of technological advancement is engulfing our culture. The author of IRL Fetish, Nathan Jurgenson argues that people have a weird interest in the world of offline. Technological advances are leading people into the realm of online, but Jurgenson also realizes the glorification of movement to offline. People who believe online world is destroying the real-life connection and many writers lament, “Writer after writer laments the loss of a sense of disconnection, of boredom (now redeemed as a respite from anxious info-cravings) …” (Jurgenson 127). People who are saying technological advances is removing people from the real-life so they think they can create a world where online does not exist. This new movement is educating the world that phone must be put away and boast about being offline. In IRL Fetish by Nathan Jurgenson, the author illustrates the practice of fetishizing of the offline world creates a misrepresentation of online and the offline world.

Technology is a resource that has gotten individuals addicted in using it, distracting them from performing certain activities in their lives. However, technology has also been valuable in the way individuals use it to gather information. In the article, Escape from the matrix, it defined this addiction as FoMO (Fear of Missing Out). Writer Burak asserts that FoMo is “the latest cultural disorder that is insidiously undermining our peace of mind” (par. 5). Technology is greatly contributes to FoMo because it has greatly impacted individuals who participate in social media. Burak reports that “…56 per cent of those who use social networks suffer this modern plague” (par. 5). This is significant because this could get in the way of activities

It’s hard not to see or use a technology tool in our daily life, if we live in a modern world. The bombardment starts early in the morning and it will be manifested through our day in several ways, the regular person will wake up and check the apps on the cellphone while drinking a coffee, it can be for example to read news on the web, daily market numbers or for social interaction with others. The expansion to advanced options of communications like smartphones and tablets are great examples of the accelerated transition to a mass online communication. The social use of technology is influencing adult population in our present. According to Pew Research Center (n.d) data collected up to September 2014 in the online environment:

Imagine life without the daily use of technology. Would society be able to function without the unlimited resources in the palms of one`s hands? Since the 1860s, technology has evolved at such a rapid pace in order to keep up with the environment. New tools are constantly being added to benefit people`s lives. While embracing this new technology does have its disadvantages, utilizing what is available can result in many beneficial outcomes. The prevalence of technology can be very helpful in several different circumstances, including health, communication, and education which can all benefit from the advances of equipment in daily life.

“Participating in the Always-On Lifestyle” is a fascinating read on what it means to be truly online. Boyd discusses her views on the antiphone phenomenon and the idea that technology is an always negative thing. She believes that technology can enrich and energize our connections that we make in contrast to many negative views. However, while making a case for the good that technology has to offer she also states that sometimes she “[struggles] to find balance” and becomes overwhelmed. Technology is becoming ever more present, more than ever technology uses need to seek to find harmony between digital pleasures and our everyday lives. Always- On lifestyles do not uses technology for “instant gratification” but instead use technology to enhance

In my poster, I used an image of old lady from Swongled Media (2008) to represent the concept of digital immigrants. Prensky (2001a, p. 8 ), in his first article “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants”, describes this term as those older generations “who were not born into the digital world”. After years of living in “pre-digital lifestyles” (Selwyn, 2009, p. 369 ), the digital immigrants have been transformed into a group of “asylum seekers” in digital media world (Byne & Ross, 2007, p. 4 ). It means that these older people are forced to adapt if they really want to be connected. Likewise, even though some of digital immigrants can use technology, most of them still consider it as “something foreign” (Kennedy et al., 2008). Consequently, the digital immigrants may find online experience “anarchic, superficial and/or threatening” (Dufresne & Bethke, 2005), due to their entrenched value in traditional discourse of information gathering. O’Hara and Steven (2006, p. 88) even claims that the digital immigrants require more attention due to their ICT skills which are “second hand, slightly forced and has to be learned”. In other words, digital immigrants are seen as groups of people who are older and less familiar as well as uncomfortable with technology.

Today is the world of computers, smart phones, and immediate satisfaction. One can easily pick up his or her smart phone and Google something for a quick, easy answer. The Google world, according to Aspray (2011), has actually caused a shift in how people research and find necessary data (p.234). One does not have to go to the library or a print encyclopedia anymore because a whole world of information can be at one's fingertips through the use of phones, tablets, laptops, etc.

Earlier this week, the citizens of the world gathered in front of their glowing blue screens, waiting with bated breath to hear tales of revolutionary ideas, magical new technology and innovative new gadgets. What they got instead was slightly better productivity software.