The Effects of Technology

Isaac Newton once said, “To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”.

Many, if not all, have agreed for this to be true. So what is the effect of technology in today’s culture?

Books are becoming obsolete with the presence of technology. In this microwave society in which we live, everybody wants information right now. “Google it” has become a verb in the English vocabulary as if before it wasn’t invented there was no other way to access information. Google is only great tool when it is used to further knowledge in something, but it has made us lazy in seeking that knowledge. We do not absorb knowledge by typing a question in on Google and getting an answer in less than one second. We obtain knowledge of a subject only by reading and doing the necessary research. Our society relies too much on Google and I fear what would happen if it ever was to get shut down.

Many technological advances have been made to improve the access of information, but with this instant access, there are also many side effects to go along with it. Take for instance, “social networking” is ironic because in its name is an oxymoron. Instead of actually bringing people together, it actually creates breaks in relationships. With the boom of social networks, rarely do we ask, “What did you do this weekend” because more than likely we already know from Facebook or Twitter.  Personal interactions and communications are reducing now since there’s no point in getting to know someone when you can become friends with them on Facebook and read about their life.

On the other hand, we've survived more radical changes in technology and to how we access and assess information. Plato doubted his era's innovation of the written word. In "Phaedrus," the god Theuth boasted that his invention of writing would improve the wisdom of people compared with the oral tradition. King Thamus responded, "The discoverer of an art is not the best judge of the good or harm which will accrue to those who practice it." The risk is that people "will receive a quantity of information without proper instruction, and in consequence be thought very knowledgeable when they are for the most part quite ignorant."

The invention of the cell phone and email brought about the demise of the postal office, as social networks did to social interactions, and as Google did to self-learning. I’m not saying that technology is bad, but rather that you should consider your reliance on it. Believe it or not, there’s nothing wrong with learning and communicating the old fashion way, people have done it before.

--Brandon Johnson

@Snagman_Johnson