I'm on chapter five of Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. He makes a point in chapter four that I found very interesting. He theorizes that before the age of television, people willingly read and participated in social activities because it was the only way that they could connect with the world. He mentions that during colonial times and much of the 1800's, people were much more interested in debates and written works. Books comparatively sold more in those times than they did when this book was published in 1985.
He goes on to say that during the later years of America, when television and faster forms of communications came along, they brought along their own means of connecting with the world. As more and more people started to shift toward telephone conversations rather than real-life conversations and watching television shows rather than reading books, it became evident that technology was slowly erasing the old ways of connecting with society and replacing them with new ways. Even after Postman's book was published, people continued to use technology to interact with others on an even wider scale rather than using old methods such as written word or spoken word.
With that being said, do you think that these new methods of reaching out to society foreshadow a bright future or a grim one?
To answer your question Grant, I think that the future will be a bright AND grim one, it just depends on how you look at it. For example, if a person wants to preserve folk culture then yes, the way things are going will lead to a grim future in their opinion, but if a person loves technology and can't wait for its newest advancements, then they will definitely see the future as a bright one. The type of person someone is determines how they would see the future.
ReplyDeleteAs time goes on, we will make technological advances that make our lives easier; as seen in the past thousands of years we have always been trying to create something to help us, whether it be from using rocks as tools or inventing a motor for travel. I believe future methods of communication and transportation will allow people to discuss and share ideas much more freely. Old ways of communication will fade out to make way for a better, more enjoyable innovation. So in my opinion, the future will be bright, because the world will revolve around humans; technology will be at our fingertips and we will use it to make the world as enjoyable as possible for us.
ReplyDeleteAlthough we have left ways of communication behind and started using E-mails which is better, technology isn't always going to benefit us. People tend to use technology in any situations for an easier way to do anything. It will definitely be more enjoyable for us, but we will miss the old ways of doing things and might be less beneficial in different aspects. For example, a mail letter in your mail box is rarer and most likely more important than an E-mail you get because technology is becoming overused in our lives.
DeleteI definitely agree with you when you say that "technology is becoming overused in our lives." But I don't think that many people will "miss" the old way of doing things, because newer ways will not only be faster than the old, but easier. This will push the older technology out of peoples life's and fill it with the new. To go back to Grant's question, I also believe that the future will be both bright and grim. Bright in that information that can benefit us will be easy to get hold of. As for a grim future, that all depends on how individuals use technology and its information. And based on how technology has already hit us with so much force, almost completely filling peoples lives with sitting at a screen or looking at a phone, I think almost all individuals will lean towards technology more and more leading to a grim future.
DeleteI believe that these new methods of reaching out to society foreshadow both a bright and grim future. Technology makes things much more convenient; communicating with others is definitely way easier than it was in the past. However, these new methods also foreshadow a grim future due to the fact that it is abused. Many people today would rather "connect to the world" by watching television or playing video games. In my opinion, it all depends on the individual and if they know how to manage their time wisely and limit their use of technology.
ReplyDeleteI believe when new technology comes out it simply makes our way of communication different. We still communicate but through a different medium. When the printing press and paper was invented people may have said the future would be grim because oral tradition was dying but, it was only a change in the way people communicated. In that sense I don't think we can say it is bad or good, bright or grim, it is just different.
ReplyDeleteDifferent is a better way of describing the advancements of technology. However, if people can familiarize themselves to these changes, they would not feel different from it. Having a bright future is possible because we can always adapt to the changes that technology offers us. Furthermore, in my opinion, the grim future can be avoided by managing time properly, expecting whatever is unexpected, and learning from the mistakes that would be made.
DeleteI agree that it is definitely different; however, you can't just familiarize yourself with change when you have been strictly learning something a specific way for too long. We can't always adapt because if we're going to adapt to technology, we're going the wrong way. We should be the one changing technology instead of it changing us. Managing time properly is obvious, but expecting the unexpected is an irrational thought. If we always think a different way than the obvious, then we won't always get results because we'll be looking at it from a constantly different perspective. Sometimes it's great to take things simple and for granted. We can't always think complex. Making mistakes will definitely teach you certain things you didn't know or cared about, but even with success we will learn interesting knowledge and things. This is why saying technology is "different" doesn't cut it. In some ways it can be different, but in other ways it could be the same as now. We will always learn from success or failure, and we will always do things without technology. Technology is a powerful force that only we have the power to control and not let it control us.
DeleteGrant, I believe that it could go either way. Although we replaced real life conversations with telephone conversations, it is much easier to communicate because of how fast it is wherever you go. Also, you could take as much time as you need to respond. However, the con to that is that we lose communication skills in real life. Furthermore, if we balance out using our technology and going out into the real world, I predict that it won't be grim or bright, it'll be in the middle.
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ReplyDeleteThis can go many ways. Technology is power and with power comes corruption. Our intentions may be pure but our actions may be tainted. Technology may give us extraordinary capabilities but it does not tell us how and when to use it. In the wrong hands it could be our downfall.
ReplyDelete"If we continue to develop our technology without wisdom or prudence, our servant may prove to be our executioner." -Omar N. Bradley
With technology just at our fingertips we have the potential to cause massive destruction. However, even though technology may be able to spread mass destruction, it can also spread creative innovations that allow us to live easier and happier lives.
With technology we can do the things we want to do. It opens a new way of learning, creativity, and it sparks a driving force inside that empowers us to do great things. When it comes to communication, I believe technology provides a lot of benefits. If you send an email instead of a letter you just saved an envelop, a stamp, and the gas it takes for the U.S. postal service to deliver that letter. By using an email instead, our resources don't become depleted as quickly and it's more efficient. We are allowed to correct grammar and punctuation errors as well. Technology is all about potential, it's neither good nor bad but how it is USED that determines whether it is deemed good or bad. And whether it will be black or white in the future depends on who holds this power. My belief is that it won't be black or white but a nice shade of grey.