Technology and Us...

The second in class essay was about the influence of technology on us or literally on our culture. For this I felt comfortable to use my own experience, because I am living with technology every second, unlimited. Also we had to use some information from the assigned resending from the book Common Culture. The effects of technology on us can be good or bad? Am I right? For example with technology development such as TV we are getting lazier and thus developing so many physical and mental disorders that are not good for us. In other hand we get so many information and learnings through TV that makes us more aware about the world (maybe!). Now are we winners of advantages of technology or the losers of the its disadvantages?

Winner or loser?

I promise more than half of American people never experienced any restrictions in using Internet. I remember my teenager time, when I had to make connection via Dial-up connection to enter my second world, and as I entered I was not able to visit many of social and entertaining websites, because of Iranian governmental restriction.  Today, as an individual of American culture I have freedom of access to many websites via efficient technology, everywhere. New technologies changed our life culturally by altering the foundation of our interests and quality of symbols by which we communicate and essential features of our community.

Technologies alter our interests: “the things we think about” as Neil Postman, the author of Judgment of Thamus, defines the meaning of the structure of interests.  Looking back to myself, every morning, I open my eyes and take out my cell phone from under my pillow to check my E-mails.  This behavior started to me since I got a smart phone.  Before I used to look at my colorful big painting hanged over the wall just in front of my bed. Five minuets staring at painting early morning was a whole course of art and creativity for me.  I was relaxed I had no worries for starting a new day.  But today, I am gaining more stress by addicting to check my emails. The whole day, there is a sticker back of my brain that alters me: check it! Check it! Although I know that eighty percent of my emails are Junks, still I want to check it! Plus, every time I open my Email, so many advertisements on the borders of web page grabs my attention. Which sometimes ends up looking at advertisers’ website to see if I need their product or not. At this point technology caused me to loose my healthy inner thoughts by which I could realize my interests, real needs.

Technologies alter our methods and quality of communication: “things we think with” Postman well defines the character of symbols in his article in which we communicate through in society. Also he uses the idea of changing language of people who are using technology daily, extremely computer and smart phone users, to show the disadvantages of technologies on the culture. “The old words still look the same, …but they do not have the same meanings; in some cases they have opposite meanings.” He says. Truly, if someone today talks about “intelligence” to me, the first thing that comes up to my mind is “computer”. In contrast, my mom’s first response to the same word is “ the person who knows math and acts fast”. In fact the meaning of “intelligence” is changed through technology in which two different generations have two different attitudes about it. For instance, human replaced by a machine.

Before starting my education in English, I was thinking that communicating through this language would be very hard. In fact it is easier than my native language. For example through a text message I do not have to write a whole sentence, instead every word cuts into meaningful alphabets. For me as a user this is an advantage of technology to communicate faster, but for experts such as Thamus and Postman who are worry about the future of language and communication, it is a disadvantage.

Technologies alter the essential features of our community: “the arena in which thoughts develop” Postman defines the nature of community in which technology has its impact on it. These days, when I have dinner with friends, I see when two person start to discuss about a topic, others do not try to participate and they just take out their cell phones and play with it.  Even I feel, sometimes I prefer my semi-private space out of the larger public.  Robert Samuels in his article Breaking Down Borders states, “In fact, they compel us to redefine what private and public mean”. In which he explains how technology brought a new rules to the communities “for how to act in public places and for how to socialize with and around one another.” Maybe that is why I am not interested to making friends at coffee shops as I used to.

Finally, I found myself half winner of benefits and half loser of disadvantages of technology.  I believe “We understand intuitively that machines are becoming more like human, and now via the promise of virtual reality we have the opportunity to meet machines halfway.” As Lasn states in his book Culture Jam. The impact of technology on our culture is both positive and negative. And I think we are just facing to the new horizons of culture. Maybe the meaning of “Culture” that we are thinking of will be different in future.