Through Media and Technology - Essay Example

 Through Media and Technology INTRODUCTION Every science fiction writer since the turn of 19th century as warned against the dependence upon decadent conveniences and mechanization. From Isaac Asimov’s “I, Robot” to the “Terminator” film franchise. Today we see the very things that they worried them ever present in society as we speak. We communicate almost exclusively through media and technology, we interact with automated systems on a daily basis, and we now fill our homes with “robotic” cleaning machines. Robotic toys also are becoming more and more popular. These tiny robots are styled to look like pets, people, and other child-friendly images, each can take complex commands that never fails to impress, technologically speaking. We are very much a “techno” society and we delve deeper and deeper into that reality every day. For this reason Sherry Turkle’s perspectives are true; our interactions with other people become more shallow as our interactions with technological becomes stronger. BACKGROUND If you look around you in restaurants, grocery stores, schoolrooms, and illegally, in their cars you will see people with their heads down while they address something going on in social media (Keller 1). Even people who are with friends can manage to barely speak to their companions while remaining engaged in cyberspace. We are becoming more and shallower as we become more and more technological. Today it is completely possible for any individual to work from home, shop from home, seek entertainment, and otherwise become a complete “shut-in” and never have to interact with a living person again. That is sad, dangerous, and frighteningly enough and not entirely unlikely. DISCUSSION One of the greatest negative impacts of technological dependence is that social media has diminished and redefined the word “friend.” We call anyone who agrees with a Facebook posting or follows an important Tweet a “friend (Keller 1). This term was once saved for only those people we were truly close to; today it is passed around on Facebook like confetti. We share personal information, reveal our locations, and all of our likes and dislikes are available to people we hardly know; someone who may not even be who they say that they are. We can, via social media and internet, speak to hundreds of people and reach out to hundreds more; but the depth of those conversations, friendships will never be solid and remain shallow and superficial. We have grown impatient with other people as a whole. Technology is cold but it is often more efficient than human beings who are more likely to make calculative and academic mistakes or be slowed by human considerations and errors. People are becoming more and more accustomed to getting what they want with a single click. Many experts feel that that elevated exasperation and deteriorated patience are only likely to get worse and separate people even more (Martin 1). The more we favor that perspective the more and more distant form one another people may become. We interact with technology on a regular basis every day. We cannot make a phone call and speak to a person without first speaking to a “human-sounding” automated system to direct your calls. When we shop at grocery stores several have self-service checkout lanes where a friendly female voice directs you through the process and thanks you for your patronage. The more commonplace this becomes the more desensitized we become to interacting with technology that sounds, behaves, and functions ever-increasing human ways (Keller 1). Children are being indoctrinated by robotic toys that resemble positive likeable things, like dinosaurs and obedient puppies. These pleasing forms only work to make technology more and more appealing. However, they are still machines and are not capable of genuine emotion. It would not take long for humanity to become as empty and superficial as the technology they interact with. Human compassion, sympathy, empathy would likely all fade away in the face of greater efficiency and logic. Human beings are described biologically speaking as “communal animals,” which means that one of the things that makes us all human and satisfies our most basic instinctual needs is togetherness and communication. By leaning more and more towards the shallow and superficial friendship and communication options offered by technology we may, in fact, be stripping ourselves of the very thing that defines us all as most human. While having the potential social media does not support diversity; it encourages associated and insulating oneself with people who share your likes and opinions. Each and every day we continue to innovate our technology and make it more and more convenient and therefore more and more desirable. It is likely that we will attempt to substitute real authentic friendships with people for programmed relationships that are hardly friendships will diminish the nature of human beings. How do we talk ourselves “off the ledge” of becoming too dependent on the technology around us? How do we find the necessary balance necessary to work with technology but not be consumed by it? We need to have a more objective perspective on internet and social media interactions and relationships; be able to separate what is for entertainment and not an active participant in your day. Mechanizing the world around us was developed to simplify processes and innovating the world we live in, all of which are noble and well-intended. But it is a matter of remembering that this technology, like most, is still just a tool, like a hammer or wrench, regardless of how the technology is packaged. We must remember that human communication is a core aspect of humanity; it has value, and should not be sacrificed for a synthetic substitution and cannot replace genuine human interactions. If we do not take the time to reevaluate our relationships with modern technology then we may destroy our ability to have healthy interpersonal relationships on any meaningful level (Keller 1). CONCLUSION In the end, we must learn to see the advances in technology that improves the internet, innovates future social media, and offers more and more automation into individual lives, as tools to be used, but they should not be something that we depended upon and used as an alternative to interactions with humanity. We still need face-to-face- interaction. We still need to laugh with our friends, hug our families, and, even, on occasion, talk to a stranger who is not interested in being your friend on Facebook. It is for all of these reasons it seems quite obvious that Sherry Turkle’s article and the concerns she addresses are absolutely right and definitely something we need to be aware as we move into the future of humanity and our precious technology. WORK CITED Keller, M. (2013). “Social Media and Interpersonal Communication.” Social Work Today. 12(3). Web. 25 Apr 2014. . Martin, Alice. "The 4 Negative Side Effects Of Technology." Edudemic. Edudemic, 30 May 2013. Web. 25 Apr 2014. . Read More