Understanding The Right Meaning
Technological advances have brought on both positive and negative outcomes as they develop in our societies.They have affected our lives by producing new means of completing ordinary tasks that either benefit us in the beginning or harm us in the long run. Some researchers argue that new technological advances are for our own good and should be openly accepted as an adaptive trait that the mind normally goes through. On the contrary, many other researchers believe that technology advances have slowed our mental processing ability and as a result of this, it has affected our societies. Overall, technology advances have hindered our processing abilities and have ultimately made the modern day person more demanding. The millennial generation has experience this firsthand, often wasting countless hours on the web. We take things for granted and don't look into the real meanings of the things we see, hear, and read in our society.
To prove this point, author Nicholas Carr’s article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” alleges that technological advances, such as the internet, have made the people of todays world too dependent on the internet to the point that artificial intelligence is now being considered by tech companies. Carr, a well established writer, appeals to his readers by illustrating his personal experience of technology. He notes that the web has been a blessing to his life yet has hindered his mental abilities. Carr and his friend Scott Karp, a literature major, came to the agreement that the internet is the root of the problem. The internet makes them demand information that is accessible with the click of the mouse. In a way, they're losing the ability to process long pieces of information and residing with the quick and easy articles that the internet provides. Carr goes on to illustrate the effects that these new advances have on the already well established traditional sources. To illustrate this point, Carr states “The New York Times decided to devote the second and third pages of every edition to article abstracts” clearly our desire to obtain fast and quick information has influence every aspects of our society(Carr 5). Ultimately, Carr’s entire article consists of an informative slash hatred point of view on technology. He shows how technology has made us more dependent on the internet, lowering our cognition skills in the end.
On the other side, technological advances are argued as positive influences on our society. Carr notes that research information in our times can be done in minutes rather than the countless day’s it would take at libraries. He states that certain technologies change the way we think as whole. The printing press and the clock were two different technologies that were adopted though convenience. At first they were challenged just like how Carr is doing to the internet, but in the end, those technological advances proved to be positively influential according to Carr. By illustrating this point, Car increases his credibility and decreases his biased mentality. Other reasons why technology can positively impact our society is found in Tim Wu’s article, “As Technology Gets Better, Will Society Get worse” where he illustrates the positive effects that new technological advances can create. Wu, a professor at Columbia Law school and regular writer in the newyorker.com appeals to his audience with real life events. He mentions the isolated Oji- Cree community that was able to make a more comfortable lifestyle due the arrival of technological advancements. they no longer worried over the winter fearing that they
might run out food. Instead they live a more comfortable lifestyle.
Nevertheless, the effect of a hundred years of technology crammed into a “few decade” caused them some serious health problems due to their absence of a normal hard working lifestyle(wu 2). Unfortunately for the Oji-Cree community they demanded these commodities and the supply was given thanks to our capitalist market. The same way how the internet users lose attention span because the web’s promotion of “power browse”, the Oji-cree community lose health because of these new technological advances.
In the end, our ability to process information is always hindered when new advances are made. In both articles we see a negative tone towards technology, and more primarily its effects. Moving forward with this position, it’s important for humans to take the necessary steps so that no one is affected in any shape or form by new technological advances in the future.
