Are We Too Dependent on Technology?

[6kmeagan]

www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2013/03/05/are-we-teaching-kids-to-be-too-dependent-on-technology/

I was contemplating whether or not our modern society has become too reliant on the existence of technology. Weighing the two sides of the argument, I have decided that, though technological advancements have positively impacted our world, they have also limited the probability of progress in the creative and intellectual aspects. For instance, having easy access to phones with calculators already built in automatically rids this new generation of the idea that thought is required to be able to truly process information. By simply inputting numbers into a calculator, we never take the time to figure out how problem solve without it. As a result, we are gradually building a lazy generation of human beings. In addition, creatively-speaking, even the simplest tasks that are intended to be done for one's own enjoyment, such as drawing with a pencil on paper or painting on a canvas, are now able to be done on a computer screen. The artistic beauty in holding a paintbrush to a canvas is now slowly diminishing. I appreciate all the advantages we have been given with technology, but, at the same time, it strips us of some of the most precious aspects in life.

[10hdakembay]

I agree completely with you. Humans have become over reliant on technology, whereas technology was originally a tool, it has now become a necessity. The example Meagan used with the calculators is perfect; Another one is the smartphone. Smartphones at this point are smarter than humans and it's processing power is also approaching humans. Things such as Siri make it easier for us to find out information, but because of this people feel as if they aren't retaining information themselves anymore. In addition the internet is another powerful technology that humans are too dependent on. Without internet people would literally e lost in what to do. If the internet went down, communications would be lost, information would be lost, and it would seem as if the world is at a standstill. as i'm typing this my house is without power, and for a time that included my internet. My brother was flipping out because he needed the internet, and I was a little upset, because I couldn't do my homework without the internet. It is a little scary to even think about what would happen if we lost technology for even a week, humans need to maintain their self-reliance.

[6cgonzaleznunez]

I agree with both you guys. We are too dependent on technology for many reasons. First of all, we rely too much on our phones, tablets and laptops. I am targeting specifically mobile banking and online shopping because we input pretty personal information onto our devices. We forget that credit card fraud and hackers do exist. Technology is easily manipulatable and very fragile. In addition, we rely too much on calculators and other machines to do things for us. There are many advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantages come in places like math class where some students (me) have become used to inputing easy math (8x8) into the calculator just to be "sure". I am so bad at mental math because I have become best friends with my calculator. One place where our dependency on technologies are beneficial is in mass production of resources in factories. We all recall what a great impact industrialization has had on our country. In general, we need to be careful with relying too much on our devices and need to remind ourselves that it is okay to do things on our own. We need to be able to rely on ourselves in the case that we have to sometime in the future. A good way to practice is by going camping in the woods or something where we can really put our skills to the test.

[3hsamori]

I feel that in our society we are too dependent on technology to the point where we struggle to function without it. For example when I walk on the train, I see nearly everyone on their smartphones or sleeping while listening to music. This is a serious problem because it takes away from people communicating with each other and learning about each other. Sometimes even though people are right next to each other they decide to text each other or snap chat each other instead of having an actually conversation with each other verbally. This is most common in our teenage children’s lives. The sad part is that they don’t even realize the problems with their actions, they see it as normal. Another problem with being too reliant on technology is that it can result in humans becoming lazy in their thinking, they feel that they don’t have to retain as much information because they have their smartphone that can research anything they want for them. Basically you can say that there are positive impacts of technology and negative ones as well. People need to learn to manage how much time they spend on their phones. The piece of technology that people are most dependent on is the internet which makes sense, everything is on the internet these days. Our Homework, Tests, Games, and Social Media etc. For my family personally when the internet goes down we start to panic and feel that we are cut off from the rest of the world which is somewhat true. Nowadays everyone needs the internet in order to survive and function in this society.

[6djamila]

I do think that this generation is too dependent on technology, however, I do not think this means this generation is lazy. Just because it is easier to attain information does not mean people do not want to learn as much as in previous generations. Technology is considered an advancement for a reason, it makes life easier; it allows people to satisfy their need for knowledge faster. That being said, this generation would be lost without technology. Many people can not even go to the bathroom without their phone. When someone thinks they have lostg their phone, pure hysteria takes over for the few moments before they find it was already in their hands. I am currently sitting in an airport surrounded by clumps of 5 people all hunched around outlets. It would be nice if the 40 other kids and I on this trip could hangout instead of staring at our phones of doing work on our laptops. 

[6qisabela]

I definitely think that we've become too dependent on technology. I remember one night on the LIRR when I was sketching faces for an art assignment and as I looked around I noticed that not a single person in that car was without a smartphone in their hands. People were either texting, emailing, playing a game or listening to music. I understand that technology has become a very convenient way of communicating, and can even be considered revolutionary. But then I look at younger generations. I know children as young as 7 years old who refuse to leave their houses without their (yes, their very own) iPhones or iPads. I remember when I was 7, I couldn't leave my house without my build-a-bear. This might not seem like a problem until you start thinking about the factors that go into raising a child. Questions pop up in my head like will these future generations have difficulties when it comes to social interaction? Or will every child be raised in this way that there will no longer be the need for social interaction without technology in the first place?

[6gzelda]

I completely agree with everything above and I also think as a community we are all far too dependent on our phones to the point where it takes away from so many other things in life. I was with a couple friends yesterday and we were just waiting for the bus and I looked up and realized that we were all just standing there on our phones. Its gotten to the point where i feel like if I'm not doing anything at that exact moment it is necessary to check my phone once again. Technology is such a great advancement that we have made but there is a point where it starts to hold us back. It is supposed to be something that increases communication between people far away but more realistically the effect is that is distances us from people who are close to us. There are so many things that we all miss because we are on our phones. If you're outside and its sunset the majority of the people would take out their phones to take a picture to instagram it rather than just look at it and have the memory.

[10agreco]

Overall i think we are to dependent on technology.Our laptops, phones, and tablets have become our whole lives. I can't even sit at a table with a group of my best friends and have a normal conversation anymore. Everyone is constantly checking their phones or taking posed "candids" to post on Facebook or Instagram. Besides the fact that technology has negatively our ability to socialize it has also negatively effected our ability to have good work ethic. Finding information is so easy, that their is no need to actually learn anymore. Most students look up answers to homework online, or read book summaries online. It is very easy to do well in school with the internet. Unlike our parents, we do not have to go to the library and spend hours reading through books, and taking notes to write a report. We simply type in a question and tons of information, and sometimes even a previously written essay comes up. Plagiarism is a big problem today because of this. Even my teachers post homework on Facebook. School has become reliant on the internet without the internet we can not do homework. Even raising kids today has become independent on technology. Each of my five cousins under the ages of 7 have a tablet. When they cry a tablet is placed in their hands, Their is clearly an issue with this. Parents have come to use technology to soothe their children and to parent them in many ways. I did not have any of my own technology until i was twelve. I see an issue with the fact that kids barley go out to play anymore. Now everyone simply depends on technology to educate and entertain them.

[10agreco]

Overall i think we are to dependent on technology.Our laptops, phones, and tablets have become our whole lives. I can't even sit at a table with a group of my best friends and have a normal conversation anymore. Everyone is constantly checking their phones or taking posed "candids" to post on Facebook or Instagram. Besides the fact that technology has negatively our ability to socialize it has also negatively effected our ability to have good work ethic. Finding information is so easy, that their is no need to actually learn anymore. Most students look up answers to homework online, or read book summaries online. It is very easy to do well in school with the internet. Unlike our parents, we do not have to go to the library and spend hours reading through books, and taking notes to write a report. We simply type in a question and tons of information, and sometimes even a previously written essay comes up. Plagiarism is a big problem today because of this. Even my teachers post homework on Facebook. School has become reliant on the internet without the internet we can not do homework. Even raising kids today has become independent on technology. Each of my five cousins under the ages of 7 have a tablet. When they cry a tablet is placed in their hands, Their is clearly an issue with this. Parents have come to use technology to soothe their children and to parent them in many ways. I did not have any of my own technology until i was twelve. I see an issue with the fact that kids barley go out to play anymore. Now everyone simply depends on technology to educate and entertain them.

[10BEthan]

I believe that society is completely obsessed with technology. Kids are brought up into a world where they look around and always see a screen, whether it be a smartphone, computer, or TV. People want to be on top of things that are trending in the news and social media, even if it is not necessarily true. People use technology for immediacy and not accuracy. An example of this would be Fox News, who is often one of the fastest networks to broadcast breaking news, but often before they have confirmed the facts and vetted the sources. People hide behind technology to create a wall between reality and fantasy, whether it be for communication or entertainment. When people communicate through technology, the intimacy of a conversation is toned down quite a lot. People might find that they experience life in a fuller way without so much technology consuming their lives.

[6ckenatea]

    I agree with the fact that our society has become dependent on technology. It is true that we have been able to make so many new scientific discoveries because of it; however, people are becoming too focused on the social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat. For example, when I am taking the train to school, there's not one person who is not looking at his phone, tweeting, snapping, or posting a Facebook status. People are becoming obsessed with their online appearances, that they are starting to forget who they really are, and who their friends are as well. I have to admit that when I am hanging out with friends, all of us are on our phones talking about the most popular celebrity, and just scrolling down our Facebook newsfeeds. I often wonder if our society will be able to go back to the times when as children, we all played tag, talked about a book, or played telephone with one another, and actually interacted. Even though technology has brought some setbacks to our society’s social interactions with one another, it also has been developed into a larger concept. Nowadays, most students, as well as teachers, use it for their research projects, lesson plans, and sometimes students are required to take tests online. If we look back, we can see how much technology has impacted our lives, in both a positive and negative way. Yet, as a society, we really do depend on technology for everything, and if we forget the main essence of who we are as people, technology may soon take over our lives.

[3kKristin]

I agree that there are many things we do not do because we have technology to do it for us now, but i don't see how it is such a bad thing. I do find that socialization is cut off because of technology, but there are also many perks to the advancement of technology as well. I feel as though the advancement of technology is something that we should be proud of. It has made our lives easier. It is up to ourselves to determine how much technology we choose to incorporate into our own daily lives. The example of having easy access to phones with calculators doesn't really justify the point that technology is causing the decline of processing information. There are things that we need to use a calculator for when not using a calculator would just be a waste of time. As technology changes, humans adapt. How could you argue that human beings today are not as smart as human beings in the past when technology in the past cant even be compared to some of the things we have today. If anything I would argue that we are getting smarter with the growth of technology. Technology does not just harm people. People are making technological advancements to clean up the earth and find cures to diseases. To say that we are too dependent on technology would be to say that people during the industrial revolution were too dependent on trains. It just doesn't make any sense because these things were created to better our lives. Because of technology we can have conversations without travelling far distances, meet new people, learn things quickly. So i have to disagree. Technology is not taking over our lives, we are just using technology to its fullest.

[6arianne]

I completely agree that even though technology has improved our society in numerous ways, it has also contributed to the lack of independence among children. Although it is true that It is much easier to obtain information now than it was before, we have become too reliant on technology. In today's society, children as young as 3 have iPads that allow them to play games while sitting on the couch doing nothing else. What ever happened to playing outside? Teens now are too focused on social media applications, like Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram etc. I admit, I do check my phone just as many times as the next teenager. However, I have started to change my ways as I have seen how it has affected my life in school and outside of school. With that said, it is quite hard to get rid of these old habits, as everything seems to be online nowadays. I unfortunately do not think society can stop its ways, but I sincerely hope the next generation will learn from our mistakes.

[10dtandrila]

Technology is growing exponentially day by day and it is affecting the human population in both positive and negative ways. While it can help us in finding answers by using certain search engine at our fingertips but it is also holding us against going to a bookstore or library and read the hard copy of a particular book. There is no way to only let the positive aspects happen in our lives and ignore the negative parts. One way to improve this situation is to actually decide whether one should walk to the library few blocks away for a book or just buy on an e-reader and don't get to move from the house at all. Hence, it is just a matter of realization. The more we push ourselves to actually get and do the job ourselves and not rely on technology, the more we stay connected with processes that previous generations followed and be able to continue the trend of appreciating hand- work.

[3risabel]

I think that we have become far too dependent on technology. It is a part of everything society does from work to school to maintaining relationships. Many people prefer to text their friends and comment on their pictures as opposed to actually talking to them in person. Social media is something that many of us (myself included) cannot live without. It is our way of connecting to each other. However, our real life relationships are disintegrating because we are fulfilled by relationships that are only tended to on social media. Social media also has a way of making people feel terribly about themselves. We can see when people are hanging out without us or having fun without us. Unfortunately, social media is ingrained in so many of our lives. We cannot give up a daily practice even though it is more harmful than it is beneficial for us.