Technology and Media

 

   This weeks readings all strongly dealt with how technology is effecting our everyday lives. They all seem to have a fairly pessimistic outlook on the ever-blurring lines that everyday technology creates.
   In "The Watchdog and the Thief" a few quotes stood out to me:

          “Even people who are weary of the Net’s ever-expanding influence rarely allow their concerns to
            get in the way of their use and enjoyment of technology.”

          "When we extend some part of ourselves artificially, we also distance ourselves from the
            amplified part and its natural functions…today’s industrial farm worker, sitting in his air
            conditioned cage atop a gargantuan tractor, rarely touches the soil at all- though in a
            single day he can till a field that would have taken a month by hand."

    To me, what the author is trying to get across is that these technological advancements that were originally designed to make our lives easier our ultimately numbing us. HE uses the example of the test subjects who either do or do not receive help on the puzzle test. He notes that those who did not receive help worked quicker and more logically by the end than those who did receive help; their brains are being challenged. 
   On a similar, yet different note, "Turning Points," discusses the modes of communication that modern technology has created for us. From landlines to FaceTime, our current communication methods are designed to keep us connected on a larger basis than ever before.
   But how has this virtual mode of communication AND technological ease effected our lives as physical people?
   In "The Machine Stops" people of the world are connected to each other and technology, yet disconnected at the same time. The pull to experience things and people in person is no longer there; they settle for a virtual connection over a face to face experience. 
   This is similar to the "The Turning Points" description of the man who is more happy in his relationship with his Second Life wife and life than his own. He has no intention of ever combining the facets of his real life and virtual life, which leads me to question; are we moving to an era in which we are humanizing our computers while at the same time, dehumanizing the individuals around us?