With all the technological advances in the world, we often find ourselves wanting that next best thing. In the opening commentary between the “campers” in Deliverance, Lewis’s “extreme” point of view seemed valid to me. We continue to want more, faster, and more conveniently. Eventually, where will this lead us? Will we be so dependent on our own inventions (which-as Lewis even says- will fail us), that we wont have an ability to survive without them? Most people, now, don’t know how they would communicate or schedule life without a cell phone, car, television, laptop, etc.
I was just looking at the iPad online, wondering when the third generation would maybe be out, and realized how much I depend on my computer. School is often spent on the computer, whether it be watching films, or writing papers. Now, honestly, I really don’t NEED an iPad, however, the convenience of it creates such a temptation, even to a poor college student. Things like only having to carry around a thin screen, as opposed to lugging around my MacBook and its monstrous charger, or being able to read Blackboard postings on the iPad, rather than having to print out pages upon pages of text.
Where are we going with technology? It seems to currently run our lives...so what do we do about this? Do we resist the newest development of convenience, or embrace it?
I think it's okay to embrace the development of convenience because as sad as it sounds, there's no turning back. We are so attuned to reaching for our iPhones and Blackberrys whenever we need to Wikipedia something. All corporations have employees who run their Facebook accounts, Twitter accounts, and blog accounts. What we need to do, like Margaret discussed below, is learn how to balance the convenience of technology with the tranquility of "nature."
ReplyDeleteI completely agree Jordan. I myself am a technology junkie walking around like an ad for Apple. One advancement in technology that I have really been torn over is the e-reader. I received a Kindle for my 21st birthday, and so far I am pretty impressed. As an avid reader it is really nice being able to carry numerous books in my backpack in one single "book". The one thing that keeps popping up in the back of my head is the potential threat that this could cause. Could this eventually lead to the extinction of printed books and then possibly the end of libraries? When it comes down to it, nothing beats an actual book. The feel, the smell, and the simple action of turning a physical page. Some may argue that the e-reader is best, because it cuts down on the amount of paper used etc. Where do we find this balance?
ReplyDeleteWhen have we not depended upon technology?
ReplyDeleteTrue--but could it be that this that we depend on is also our downfall? As we find more ways to contribute to society, health, etc. with technology, how many times has the exact thing that we think is helping us, actually doing us a disservice, as well?
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