Technological Impact: How We Think, Read, and Communicate

Question:Do you think technology drives/determines the way we think, read, and communicate?

In recent years, technology has had a more significant impact on our lives than ever before and the results are clearly visible. Today's most important technology seems to be the Internet since it is growing rapidly each day with new information and updated material. Several users of the Internet rely upon its technology for several reasons from news to communication, and the availability of its information is addictive.

Author of "Technological or Media Determinism," Daniel Chandler shares his belief that, "technological developments, once under way, are unstoppable" in such a way that "their 'progress' is inevitable, unavoidable and irreversible." Inevitably, I believe humans are unable to resist from the wonders of technology and what they have to offer. However, I do not believe technology is unavoidable. It is still up to the consumer to decide whether or not to give into social norms because of accessibility and convenience, although it is difficult, we still retain the choice. As far as irreversibility is concerned, technology can't be reversed, but it can disappear from our lives. There have been numerous products or ideas proving that their features were not desirable to consumers, therefore, removing them from society (examples of Wired's "Seven Revolutionary Technologies That Failed"). In a world of advancement and gadgets, we have revolved our lives around what we "think" will give us more time.

While reading Sherry Turkle's "Can You Hear Me Now," I gave a lot of thought about how emotionally involved humans are with their technologies. Turkle brings to our attention that "we live a contradiction: Insisting that our world is increasingly complex, we nevertheless have created a communications culture that has decreased the time available for us to sit and think, uninterrupted." I believe we are constantly scrambling to find more time to complete tasks or make time for friends, family, or work, but the reality of it is that we are spending more time fussing over our technology when we could be finishing tasks more quickly without them. Our emotional investment in technology makes us more upset with our relationships with others. Cell phones, for example, can be interpreted in various ways depending on the emotional state of the reader. Technology, therefore, can alter what the sender meant to say into something entirely different to the receiver. As long as we have technologies that allow us to think, read, and communicate, we will constantly be influenced by the way that technologies makes us feel.