Technology

Remember those futuristic movies where robots would do everything for us but then robots took over (I-robot)' Well we’re coming pretty close to that time. Riiinnggggg! WAKE UP! • Check text messages • Reply to email/my space messages • Shower • Plug ipod in ears • Call friend for a ride • Ugh…School This routine is universal, characteristic of countless teenagers around the world. Once upon a time we physically ventured out of the house. But who does that now' Communication has evolved!!! PHONE to COMPUTER to INTERNET to EMAIL and ahh…the CELL PHONE. If a person can do the same thing as a machine then why must we use machines' Or should it be in reverse: why use a human when a machine can do it better AND faster' Why think when we can use a calculator to do 3 times 4' Or why walk to a friend’s house right across the street when we can text' Or use a car to go to the liquor that’s down the block' Why exercise when we have diet pills' Why go out to play basketball if we have videogames' We have smart boards in classrooms; can teachers not write on a board' A decade ago students would probably have to go to library to do research but now… type a few keywords and hooray! Homework is finished. So…are we lazy if we utilize a remote control instead of getting up to change the channel' Are we manipulated by the internet if we purchase goods online' Is it bad to store music and information on a tiny chip as opposed to a myriad of CDs and files' Are we limiting our memory if we use computerized calendars with alarms to remind us' Are we so evil if we use e-billing but save paper in the process' Technology is really terrible because we can become manipulated by abusing it but it allows us to do so much. In prison criminals stay in one tiny room for the majority of the day so how different is it from addiction to technology' Are we not confined if we sit in a box, in front of a computer screen and do everything from buying groceries to online college, paying bills, playing games, watching movies, contacting friends, reading books, and so much more' It’s RIDICULOUS! What do we do to cure this addiction' Do we need boot camp like South Korea to help teenagers get over cyberspace' Nooooh…we simply need to reconnect with real, tangible, solid life. Just understand that life is essentially fuller when you can see your friend’s face when you talk to them or physically play a game than using controls and a screen. Humans need to see the absurdity of what we use technology for. And realize that technology is not the food but the spoon; a utensil that man has created to aid but one that he must NOT allow to dominate.