The Veldt Literary Analysis

The science-fiction thriller “The Veldt”, by Ray Bradbury is about a family of four who live in a very futuristic house that makes their way of living much easier. George and Lydia Hadley own the house and are also the parents of ten-year-old Wendy and Peter - two kids who are a little too spoiled in this story. In the Hadley household there is a nursery where Wendy’s and Peter’s thoughts are brought to life by way of crystal walls. The Veldt can be understood better using psychological and Marxist criticism. Specifically through Carl Jung’s theory, all people have three elements in them: Shadow, Persona, and Anima/Animus in which Wendy and Peter evidently show some sense of Jung’s Shadow in them. While looking the story through the psychological

The world is filled with technology, and it is often used in people’s daily lives. However, sometimes it seems like technology is too heavily relied upon. One person who feels that way is Ray Bradbury, the author of The Veldt. Bradbury uses imagery and mood to express the idea that dependency on technology leads to corruption.

“It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity” says Albert Einstein (www.brainyquote.com). This is very true in the story “ The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury, where George Hadley has bought a home where everything is automated and technology makes life extremely simple and efficient. Hadley has purchases a room called the nursery which projects whatever the user is thinking of onto the walls. Soon, George and his wife Lydia become terrified because with highly advanced technology, there is no need to interact with other human beings because at this point, everything that a human could do would be done faster and better with the aid of technology.

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

“The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury suggests the idea that once one believes they have everything, they begin to realize that they truly have nothing. This is elucidated in the story by several different means, many of which are hidden throughout the text, making the theme hard to discover. Once it becomes clear, however, it is unmistakeable.

Additionally, when people get addicted to technology, they start to become anti-social and everything that happens in their lives, they tend to keep to themselves. Now people are psychologically unstable to perform everyday tasks because many are introverted in the world. Uncommunicative people are most of the time withdrawn from others, which causes many issues. According to the article “Internet Addiction and Antisocial Internet Behavior of Adolescents” the author states,

“We can’t jump off bridges anymore because our iPhones will get ruined. We can’t take skinny dips in the ocean, because there’s no service on the beach and adventures aren’t real unless they’re on Instagram. Technology has doomed the spontaneity of adventure and we’re helping destroy it every time we Google, check-in, and hashtag”. Written by Jeremy glass a Connecticut- born writer in the article, “We Can’t Get Lost Anymore”. Many whom have grown up in the twenty-first century can reflect on his or her childhood hooked on technology. Reflecting back on the good ole days to the first cell phone and pager allowing for the creation of instantaneous contact. However very few individuals are incapable of seeing how these prolonged consequences are truly life altering. In this research paper, I will be focusing on teenagers and young adults; ages ranging from 13-25 years old. For extra knowledge pertaining this subject according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, “Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S”. This information becomes essential to consider because research shows technology influences anxiety rates in teens and young adults to rapidly increase. Nevertheless, some people will defend technology by arguing its benefits within education, but fail to recognize the consequences. Technology creates the gateway for many teens and young adults with easy access to the internet which provides endless social media sites inducing anxiety

Have you ever left your phone at home and became anxious? Have you ever ditched your friends to stay home and play online games? You may be suffering from Internet Addiction Disorder or IAD. Internet Addiction Disorder drives people to overuse technology and create a variety of behavioral problems with impulse control (Saliceti 1372). People turn to the Internet as an escape into a world that does not have real life consequences and they are just able to run free. However, people who use the Internet or a form of technology will not be able to put it down sometimes for hours. If Internet users don’t step away from their computers or smart devices, negative influences revolving around this technology will begin to consume one’s independence and deteriorate social interaction.

“We didn’t have a choice to know any life without iPads or iPhones. I think we like our phones more than we like actual people” said Athena, a teen who was interviewed by the Atlantic (Twenge 2017). When individuals are addicted to social media, it may cause a lot of problems, physically, emotionally, and mentally. Teenagers today struggle with communication and creating strong bonds with others due to their lack of in-person conversations. Most conversations take place over text messages or social media accounts and it has affected their attitudes and behaviors. Addiction to social media typically leads to unplanned circumstances, such as mental health problems, which includes depression and anxiety.

In recent years，network technology developing rapidly so that internet bring changes for teenager’s daily life and a large number of teenagers network user is rising. A review by Lau CH（2011 ) found that over 12% of male students and 5% of female students in China showed signs of Internet addiction. Moreover，Data from Pew Internet and American Life Project（2001）analysed that around 39.2% teenagers spend approximately 3-4 hours on internet，as a result，they may feel live in a virtual world. Similarly, Kimmerly and Lisa(2009) have argued that over 90% of children aged 3-18 in the US used computers, and the long time they surf the internet might cause physical health problems to teenagers (obesity, visual strain and insomnia). So the essay presented here summarize the major drawbacks about teenager Internet addiction，including internet addition in games，social media and sex.（Goldberg,2005）. In addition，identifying and analyzing the reasons of adolescent internet addiction. As a result，focus on the addition problem and discuss the solutions.

“Digital age addiction falls into five types – device addiction (i.e., computer game addiction), information overload (i.e., web surfing addiction), net compulsions (i.e., online gambling or online shopping addiction), cybersexual addiction (i.e., online pornography or online sex addiction), and cyber-relationship addiction (i.e., an addiction to online relationships). A 2012 survey by Common Sense Media found that “[teens] are attached to their devices than to their social networking sites: 41% of cell phone owners say they would describe themselves as “addicted” to their phones, and 32% of iPad owners say the same. 20% of social networkers say they are “addicted” to their sites.” Social networking

You would think that in an age of perpetual technological exposure, we as a population would be able to control ourselves around it. Common sense seems to dictate that it is unhealthy to constantly be on our smartphones, however, we seem to do it anyway. It has become common today to favor our digital presence over our physical existence, often being trapped in the world of social media. Addicted to an online way of life looking for affirmation, social connectedness and perceived self worth in many young adults have depreciated. Several studies today examine similar concepts such as technology as an addiction with side effects, ideas of perceived social isolation and social connectedness, and lowered feelings of belonging and sense of purpose resulting from social media use. Research thus far has provided ample information on why society suffers from digital addiction and those adverse effects, however, it seems to be that information disclosing effective ways to conquer this addiction is limited.

An increasing problem streaming throughout the global society today is IAD or Internet Addiction Disorder. Our culture along with many others has been consumed with the ease and pleasure of shopping, gaming, and social networking through online portals to the point that it has become an overwhelming problem for some people. What Internet Addiction Disorder is exactly has been the topic of much debate and so has what makes internet addiction so addicting. IAD is a serious problem and is receiving attention from all over the world. Once we’ve learn to identify the problem how do we deal with it? As technology is becoming faster, better, and increasingly available, the need to study and understand matters corresponding to Internet Addiction

Have you ever used technology – surfing the internet, playing a videogame, or scrolling through social media – as a way to escape reality for a little bit? Have you been guilty of ‘binge watching” a Netflix series, or two...or three in one weekend because you did not want to deal with your parents, family or friends for a while? At what point does technology become an addiction, especially for teenagers of today who will be the first generation who knows nothing different than life with technology? Being seventeen, I am apart of the generation labeled as “digital natives,” this means me and many other teens have been born into the technological world, and do not know a world without technology. We are allowing this technological world to consume who we are and what we do with our lives. Especially for the generation of teens today, technology will continue to be difficult to live without; but it also will become something very difficult to live with if we rely on it too much or feel like we can not live without it.

Secondly, this dependency on computers has actually taken over people’s involvement in other social and physical activities. In the past, children and even adults used to play table games or even do more exercises in their free time. However, nowadays computers are taking over the way people spend their free time, causing an antisocial disorder and a sedentary lifestyle. A research carried out by Young (1996a) indicates that dependency on computers, specifically Internet, had led to several problems at workplaces and in families or with social relations (cited in Widyanto & Griffiths, 2007). Opponents of this view, however, argue that this advantageous technology allows antisocial people to be more extroverted and raise their self-esteem. For example, many people can be more extroverted and even say thing that they will not say in person. Nevertheless, many researches have proved that users began to replace their social and physical activities, changed their sleeping patterns and their mood with the increasing dependency on computers. More people prefer to stay at home to be connecting with others through “virtual” friendship than socializing and meeting others in real life. An article by Kraut et al. (1998,