Online blog project; a slave to technology
In this day in age I can find any piece of information in a split second. A friend tell me something and reach me any time of day from across the globe. I can learn what any celebrity has done to make a fool of themselves in their own home. And I can watch a live baseball game from nearly anywhere. The elections in the last decade have been like none others, it changes the outcome of the world. The media controls our views and the internet has everything you could possibly want to know about these politicians. http://www.cnn.com/
I cannot argue that I am obsessed with technology and have always been intrigued but what it has to offer us. But if you are like me, you will glare at the guy in the airport with his ear piece in and a slave to his blackberry. The iPhone is faster than ever, only a year after it was made. http://www.apple.com/iphone/ Ten years ago this would be a dream, a dream to even have a cell phone. Think about the last ten years and how much has even developed. Take a look at the video posted and see for yourself. And now think about how long it took for the automobile to get to where it is now, or even in its first ten years.
I will also critique and how we are becoming a generation dependant on technology. Little kids are glued to the tv because their parents won’
t take them to the park on a nice day. Nine year old girls, with iPhones in Los Angelos, pretending to be their favorite slutty washed up celebrity, dressing like them, and having access to an internet and television only made for adults.
We are all becoming slaves to this world, and there seems to be no escape. What we need to do is slow down, the world is moving so fast and it is hard to stop and take a good look at the beauty around us. Try leaving your cell phone at home one day, it will drive you nuts. What if my kid gets hurt? What if I want to take a cool picture because I don’t even own a camera any more? Or what if my friend sends me a funny forwarded e-mail and I can’
t write back? These would be the questions running through our minds. Well, we managed this ten years ago why not now.
Take a walk in the woods someday, and turn your phone off. Pick up a news paper instead of the internet. Try and slow down, and do not become a slave to this world, because its only a mater of time before the world advances again.
November 20, 2008 at 5:45 pm
I TOTALY F*&%ING AGREE. people need to stop depending on technology. i mean , there is something kindof special about reading a newpaper- the whole proccess of reading it over your monring coffee- best way to wake up. and then what about books- nice old books. i mean, people today are so used to technology that our brains are no longer capable of reading the same stuff as we used to- marcus aurelius used to be read all the time- now never- and now its harder than ever to read.
December 2, 2008 at 4:01 pm
I must say that I totally agree with the author. In today’s world we are to dependant on technology, though I won’t glare at the businessman who is stuck to his phone- that may be me one day. Rather I am concerned about how technology is changing our kids. Three hundred years ago, children were reading Paradise lost by John Milton. One of the greatest pieces of literature of all time, it is also a very difficult read. However difficult children of the age of 9 or 10 were reading it. Today, even I have trouble with it, and I’m 18 and self describe as a somewhat accomplished reader.
What went wrong? Does technology really have to do with the decline in our minds?
After reading the blog noted above, I was ready to answer yes. Being a proactive person I quickly jumped at the idea of making a change, and as it was thanksgiving, and I was to see my 9 year old niece, I figured I had a chance. I took to her two books, first “The Secret Garden” and second “The Chronicles of Narnia” the later being the entire collection in one volume. By the end of the evening, I finally had her nose in the book, and to my disappointment, she almost forgot to say goodbye. Almost being the key word there. I got her to promise to contact me the moment she was done, and we would talk about the book. As her uncle, I intend to keep close tabs on her education, and especially on her reading, writing, and language skills. I am drafting a letter right now to my sister, encouraging her to get Sophie (my niece) to take a foreign language, preferably French. I also want her to be on a sport team for her entire life until after college.
I want Sophie to go to Harvard. But I’ll settle for something a bit less- Amherst maybe, Williams or Middlebury is all acceptable. Bowdoin too. The school I attend, Hobart and William smith, should be on her list of safeties.
I love my niece.
Yale might be a good school too.
In addition to the action I took regarding my niece, I also am writing to the campus newspaper, doing an article about this exact topic.
Popular culture is a good thing, in theory, but unfortunately we have become perverted by it, retarded by it, and slowed by it.
We need to do as the author says, and go to the woods, turn off our phones, and listen to the trees. We need to sit in their shade and pick wildflowers, read books, and dream.
Dream.