OK! Before I even
start I just want to say this is NOT an anti-tech post. I love technology. I
think if used right can only benefit humanity on nearly every level and I can’t
wait to see what tech marvels are in store for our
future.
Having said that…I believe our culture has allowed technology to really affect us on a psychological and social level to a degree that it actually harms us as a society as a whole. Thanks to devices like Smartphones we have more ways to keep in touch with people at any time of the day and yet it’s been shown we spend less and less time actually talking to people in person than we have in the past. A lot of this is due in part to phones now allowing us to also stay connected to work and our busy lifestyles much easier. We text more than we talk, we stay connected more often than being disconnected.
When we drive around with the family we put a blu-ray on for the kids in the back seat instead of actually talking. Instead of sitting with family at dinner, we turn on the TV or look at our tablets. Instead of parents spending time with children at home they do their own things while the kids play Xbox. In technology that’s based around interaction, we actually have a higher amount of quantity time and a significantly lesser amount of quality time. It’s been said in many studies and articles in the past 2 years that we are a people that are becoming more and more isolated due to this quantity over quality equation influencing the course of society. Some have even indicated that mass shootings may just be one side effect of an isolated culture.
I’m sure some will dismiss this post as trash and others will laugh it off. But I think that may be because we simply just don’t want to give up what we have. Change is too hard and too personal. In American culture we live to rebel, we don’t want to be told how to live or what to do. We don’t want to admit we need change because we want OUR WAY. It’s what our society is built around, look at media for proof of that. And if we don’t…what will happen to our society as it continues on this path? I think that is something no one can really know for certain, but I highly doubt it will be anything good.
Having said that…I believe our culture has allowed technology to really affect us on a psychological and social level to a degree that it actually harms us as a society as a whole. Thanks to devices like Smartphones we have more ways to keep in touch with people at any time of the day and yet it’s been shown we spend less and less time actually talking to people in person than we have in the past. A lot of this is due in part to phones now allowing us to also stay connected to work and our busy lifestyles much easier. We text more than we talk, we stay connected more often than being disconnected.
When we drive around with the family we put a blu-ray on for the kids in the back seat instead of actually talking. Instead of sitting with family at dinner, we turn on the TV or look at our tablets. Instead of parents spending time with children at home they do their own things while the kids play Xbox. In technology that’s based around interaction, we actually have a higher amount of quantity time and a significantly lesser amount of quality time. It’s been said in many studies and articles in the past 2 years that we are a people that are becoming more and more isolated due to this quantity over quality equation influencing the course of society. Some have even indicated that mass shootings may just be one side effect of an isolated culture.
I’m sure some will dismiss this post as trash and others will laugh it off. But I think that may be because we simply just don’t want to give up what we have. Change is too hard and too personal. In American culture we live to rebel, we don’t want to be told how to live or what to do. We don’t want to admit we need change because we want OUR WAY. It’s what our society is built around, look at media for proof of that. And if we don’t…what will happen to our society as it continues on this path? I think that is something no one can really know for certain, but I highly doubt it will be anything good.
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