Friday, January 4, 2013
Technological Shortcuts
Many people consider technology as an improvement in a person's daily life. But really, most of technology allows a person to be completely reliant on themselves, without the help of anybody else. For example, the smartphone has all of these apps which appear to better the individual, but with no personal contact with any other human being. There is an app to help a person with their diet, to remind them to exercise, and online shopping apps. Some phones even have a voice activated system that talks back to the owner. I'm not saying smartphones are a bad thing, many of my friends and family members own one. They can come in handy when lost by using the gps system it contains, and it is a good source of communication, via texting, talking, or emailing. But the American ideal of individualism can be easily seen in the way technology allows a person to become even more self-sufficient, and not have to rely on the help of others for their own personal goals.
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That idea that smart phones promote self-reliance is a very interesting point. I agree with that idea but the real question is whether or not that is a positive thing. Although phones are supposed to be central to the idea of helping people stay in touch, these days it seems as if they are keeping people apart. I’ve been with groups of friends and I’ll look around and EVERYONE will be on their phones; checking facebook, twitter, texting…or playing temple run. The convenience of modern phones is great but it seems as if they are a veil between us and other people. It seems like people would rather text than see each other face to face.
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