Is Technological Advancement Making Us More Productive Or More Dependent?

Technology has been essential in making life more manageable, almost to the point of effortlessness in some areas. It is within that space that there is a danger to be aware of. Are we being more productive or are we becoming utterly dependent on the technology we utilize? If for some reason some, or heavens forbid all the technology we use were no longer accessible, would we still be able to function as a society? Click to Read More...

What do you think?

Josh Ray, Tyler Murata, Preston San, Ben Reed

Professor Kelly Rowley

English 115

December 5, 2012

Drawing the Line of Technology

Technology has come a long way from what it used to be. Now, we live in a world run by the mass media. As a result, we have a constant need for the latest and greatest technology. Each year, our technological abilities become greater, as well as our cravings for new technology. However, when many think of new technology, and what they can get their hands on, they become anxious. They will stop at nothing in order to get something new. Many are starting to question whether this addiction for technology is becoming a pro or a con in today’s society.

Technology can be very helpful to a lot of people, mentally and physically. With all the endless amounts of opportunities technology has given us, we as a species have been able to succeed. Thanks to technology, people with certain disabilities that have lost their hearing or limbs are able to make up for it using hearing aids and prosthetic limbs. Technology has helped people become more productive by allowing us to create major advancements such as televisions, phones, and computers. Over the years, technology rapidly started to become more advanced. Because of this, people began to break the privileges we have been given by our technological knowledge. As a result, have simply become lazy. With the introduction of social networking, one of the largest technological advances we’ve ever had, human laziness has significantly increased.

You may ask yourself, “but wait, how can social networking make us socially lazier?” Social networking has had a substantial impact on the way humans choose to live. Before social networking was ever even conceived, people used to talk on the phone, write, and visit each other if they ever wanted to get in contact. People still do all of these things, but with the introduction of social networking, people have become less inclined to do so, because all of these things can now be accomplished behind a computer screen. Writing physical letters, talking on the phone, and even visiting other people has become a burden to many in this day and age, and that is because social networking now exists. Because of email and text messaging, many people no longer have the want or need to mail out letters or talk on the phone. Technologies like texting and Facebook have taken away many of the emotional aspects of human communication, because texts or wall posts lack emotion. The smartphone in particular has given us the ability to access these same distractions on the go, causing our lazy human nature to reveal itself in places other than in the comfort of our own homes. With all the many applications these new smart phones have, we are able to access the necessities we need in a day by a few touches of a button. Smart phones are a wonderful luxury to have, but when we overuse them, we become too familiar with the idea of having everything that we think we need in the pockets of our pants.  Nowadays, too many people have become more concerned with their social statuses rather than their statuses in the real world. According to apa.org, “studies found that middle school, high school and college students who checked Facebook at least once during a 15-minute study period achieved lower grades.” One check does not seem like much, but without a doubt, Facebook and social networking have contributed to the increasingly bad grades that many students obtain in school. In short, social networking combined with advancing technology is a large reason why people become increasingly lazier each year.

In conclusion, technology has become a powerful force in modern society. As our technological abilities became greater, so did our lust for the latest and greatest things they have to offer. The pros versus the cons of technology have become a major topic of debate. Technology has been very helpful, and necessary, in order to help us evolve into the advanced society we have become to this very day. With advancements in medicine and an overall understanding of the human body and the world in which we live, we have been able to successfully prosper. Major technological inventions, such as the television, prosthetic limbs, and smartphones, have without a doubt made life more convenient for most. However, these same conveniences we have been privileged with have brainwashed us, causing us to become excessively lazy, and too focused on the newest advancements. Technology has made plenty of us forget what it is like to be human, and interact with others properly. It has essentially given people a new outlook on life, a lot for the better, but a lot for the worst as well. But at the end of the day, technology is necessary for our survival, and it will naturally become a larger part of our daily lives as time passes. It is ultimately up to humans to decide whether they will use the technology, or let the technology use them.

            

The Truth Behind Our Laziness & Technology

Has technology made us lazy or are we making ourselves lazy?

Find out here! The TRUTH

The Opportunities Technology Gives Us

     Technology gives us the ability to do things more precisely, quickly, and even to do jobs that we could not do at all. With technology we are making the impossible possible; prosthetic limbs and hearing aids bring people close to regaining what they have lost. We are even sending drones to different planets to further our knowledge of space. Some say that with the evolution of technology, humans are having to use less energy, do less physically, and are becoming more lazy as a result. While it is true that some technology can reduce the need to physically do some things, it is equally, if not more, true that technology gives us the time and tools to be more productive.

     Technology can be split into two groups, how it affects us mentally, and how it affects us physically. Mentally, technology helps us so that we can use our time more effectively. With technology we can do more things at once, and faster, which relieves some mental stress and lets us think about more important things. However, by using technology we reduce the need to do most things that are physical. We have created machines and such that do certain jobs for us, for instance, the automobile. With the invention of the car, walking became an exercise and a chore; taking a car would get you to your destination much faster and with much less physical effort. If productivity is measured by quantity or quality of output per time spent, then taking a car is being more productive, although you lose the physical benefits from walking, you have saved time and can do more. With the advances in medical technology, we are close to giving people back full functioning limbs that almost look and feel like the real thing. 

     Prosthetic limbs give people the ability to regain their life and do things that they would otherwise not be able to, due to their missing limb. People who have lost a leg, or a part of it, and would not normally be able to walk, can now run. We can almost return full hearing back to those who are severely hearing impaired. Technology gives us so many resources to be more productive.

(see full essay HERE)

How or HAS technology made society lazy?

Technology has changed the way the world conducts itself with the development in new technology that has helped humans. It's no question that with the help of technology, we have come to make things easier and more convenient for our daily routines and ultimately making things more efficient for our lives but has it made us lazy ? Although technology has caused a part of laziness in our society, it gives a bigger opportunity to expand and conduct our lives more efficiently and ultimately more productively.
The simple fact that society has changed from socializing "up front, in person" to sitting behind a computer to have access to massive socializing empires: Facebook and Twitter. Out of the millions of people who use these socializing sites, on average someone will spend about 23 minutes per visit to be about 15.5 hours a month that they could spend doing something more productive. Society is stuck to their phones as they check news feeds on these sites and has created a slump in laziness for these constant users.
On the other hand, the access to millions of people, information and sources online has given people the opportunity to be 100x more productive than they would be without the internet and their socializing sites. Instead of being at home sitting on your couch watching television, people can run businesses from the comfort of their home through Facebook. Staying connected to the most recent news and information lets people conduct their lives efficiently.
So is has technology made society lazy or has it made us more efficient ? The way that technology has advanced has made things easier for us thus suggesting we are becoming lazy because we want things to be easier for us but the truth is we use technology to make things more efficient which ultimately makes us more productive in the long run. Technology is a wonderful thing if you have access to it and if you choose to use it to your advantage.

How Technology Makes Us Lazy - Josh R.

We live in a world run by the mass media and our constant need for the latest and greatest technology. Each year, not only do our technological abilities become greater, but our cravings for that new technology that we create become greater as well. However, when many think of new technology, and what they can get their hands on, they become eager and excited, and will often stop at nothing in order to obtain what they want. But is new and better technology always a good thing?

Yes, increased technology usually allows humans to have faster and more efficient ways of accomplishing tasks. But at the same time, it can also be counter-argued that because we can accomplish things faster with the use of technology, that it ultimately has the ability to take away our will to work at things in order to accomplish them, thus making us lazier.

            One technological advance that has increased laziness in humans is the television. With the introduction of the television, humans found a way to not only satisfy their entertainment needs in the comfort of their own homes, but with this invention they have also been able to discover a new way to become simply, lazy. In fact, television watching time over the years has lead to increased obesity in many children around the world. When the television remote was introduced, although it kept us on couches for extended periods of time, it became a fundamental change in the way that people engaged with the television experience. However, this technological advance ultimately has lead to our current “couch potato” society, which is a classic example of technology making us lazy.

            Technology has allowed us to grow and expand as humans. As we have become more advanced in technology, we have been able to create many things essential to the survival of our species, as well as make life, well, more enjoyable. However, these same advancements in technology have also made us lazier due to the fact that technology can accomplish a lot of tasks that humans had to do manually in the past. 

How Technology is making us lazy- Tyler Murata

            In today’s Society Technology has made our lives so much easier on all of us and helps us all live very luxurious lives. Most people will agree with the fact that because of technology our lives are a lot easier and are not so stressful, but now there is technology for everything and everyone and making it too comfortable for us. There are so many things we can do with technology now that we don’t even have to move a single inch in order to go about our lives. We are slowly beginning to lose sight of our old fashion ways of doing things by our selves and relying heavily on technology to do it for us. Technology should be there to help us as well as allow us to grow as humans rather than taking away all responsibilities and actions from us completely.

            The new smart phones that everyone has are a perfect example of how technology is making us lazy. They have endless amount of applications and the things they can do are limitless allowing us to be too comfortable and unproductive. Some of the applications can actually help us be productive but a majority of them are mainly for entertainment or pure luxury. It all depends on how a person uses their phone but since a lot of people like taking the easy route, smart phones are used to their advantage because they allow endless amounts of technological tools.

            One of the biggest tools technology enables to have is communicating with a person without actually communicating with them. There are so many ways of communicating with a person using technology that people become complacent communicating with people without having to go out ant meet up with anyone. Yes it may help enable people to meet up with each other to a certain extent but because texting, instant messaging, or emailing is so easy to do, most people would rather stay where they are at than and “talk” than personally meet up and talk face to face.

           Technology allows us to have a miniature universe of our own and we can use it as we please to. It is very helpful to us, but too much of anything can also be a bad thing and so the decision of whether we want to use technology to help us learn and grow or to make us lazy depends on us. Technology is meant to help us do things we can not, not to make us lazy and rely on it to do everything for us.