Tuesday 11 December 2012

Technology and Us: Optimism vs. Pessimism

Now that we have explored different information and opinion, including the data of your own life, it's time to revisit your perspective(s) on technology's influence.

1.) What information about technology surprised you the most? Why?

2.) In what ways has technology changed your life? Discuss an area with as much detail and explanation as you can. Example, you could tell us your opinion on how technology impacts intimacy, anxiety, sleep cycles, surveillance, critical thinking, the need to be "famous"/public, etc, etc. Any area you feel technology has significantly impacted you and your world.

3.) In what ways do you think technology is changing our future (work, learning, communication, relationships, etc.)?

4.) Describe your perspective towards technology. Are you more of an optimist or a pessimist? Why? Explain.

Criteria: 

  •  Present a thoughtful discussion and argument on the topic: Technology’s influence
  • Select 2-3 distinct areas to comment on (ex: creative thought, privacy, biopower)
  • P.E.E. to explain and support your opinion
  • Edit for grammar, spelling and expression
  • I encourage you to comment on each others' arguments and ideas.

84 comments:

  1. 1) The one thing that has surprised me the most is datamining that occurs everywhere, on every website. Google, Facebook, Yahoo, and Youtube all of these sites datamine specially for each special internet user. I find it that it is almost a breach of someones private life, the internet is saving your interests and sites that you visit the most and re advertising them to you so you stay interested longer. Personally I usually get advertisements about jerseys that I can buy for cheap and advertisements from Bestbuy and Futureshop. The other thing that surprises me is that just the advancements companies have made in their devices. The economy has really capitalized on the whole internet addiction and device addiction. Brand new smartphones, smart tv's, cars that park themselves, it is really remarkable. Lastly one of the most shocking things is that in the United States 60% of the recruiting is done through a videogame called Americas Army. People are just invited to sit down at malls and constantly play this videogame while scouts from the army hand out forms. I find this exploitation of ones personal hobbies, and that it will increase in the future, but for other things.
    2) Personally technology has affected my life drastically since I was a child. I went from playing outside, riding my bike, and going to the park to constantly being on my phone, playing videogames, and being on the laptop. Technology has impacted ones sleep patterns, intimacy, and critical thinking all very negatively I believe. If you are constantly texting someone you have no face to face interaction, you don't know what emotion their feeling you can easily offend someone over a text message and think everything is fine. Sleep patterns for me personally have change because I always stay up texting on my phone, and in the "Digital Nation" video it shows the little South Korean boy who doesn't shower somedays and neglects his responsibilites just to play videogames on the internet. The obsession to stay connected has gone to a whole new extreme. Critial thinking has drop probably to an all time low, since everything you need is on google. If I am doing a research assignment it doesn't mean looking through books or papers people wrote, now I just have to go on google and find the exact detail I need. People don't care about the fine details they just quickly skim read and go straight to the source which google provides them. I don't have to even read shakespeare I could easily sparknotes anything I wanted all because google. All of these gadgets constantly distract us, it always prevents me form doing my homework, or concentrating on something because we always have that urge to check if we got a new email or text message.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your point about easy access to information is significant. Do you think our ease of access to information has made us feel that knowledge and information are the same? Do you believe they're the same?

      Delete
  2. 3) I think that technology is changing the world in general some ways positive and even negative depending on which way ou think of it. In the Ted Talks video he explains how one school has been experimentally switched completely over to laptops and ipads for all of their work instead of using books and other everyday traditional methods of teaching. Even jobs now have been relying more on blackberrys and laptops etc. Offices solely rely on computers and smartphones to constantly keep you connected with people at the office. Sooner or later every single job will have some sort of device needed to keep it functioning or even to increase efficiency. Although you could say communicating now has been much easier world wide. You can call someone or facetime them across the world with a click of a button, it is very cool how you can talk to someone across the globe yet their face is on the screen in front of you. Communication has greatly been benefited I believe from technology and will only get better.
    4) Personally I am neither a pessimist or an optimist I am in the center. Technology has many pros including the advances in medicine, communication, and entertainment. Health and medicine have greatly been helped with the advancing of technology, cures for diseases are being discovered because now they have the technology to do so. People can communicate worldwide whenever they want, having a long distance relationship or even just being away from home, all you have to do is make one phone call, skype, or facetime and you'll be connected again. People now are playing video games, watching 3D movies at home, and playing motion sensor games on their television all because of the advancings. So many new possibilities have been released in the last decade. I believe that being this indulged in technology will lead to humanity to just being lazy. Everything will be machine operated, people won't have to get up for anything, everything single bit of information will be online. Kids won't need exercise anymore because they'll have all the gadgets at their disposal any game any video any type of music if this new addiction isn't controlled. As the little by from South Korea is addicted to his videogames humanity will start to rely heavily on their machinary and their gadgets and will eventually lose their own common sense on how to function. Technology should be used and is a very cool thing if used to a certain extent, but if it gets to the point where one can't function anymore then more rehab centers will have to be opened worldwide.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your cautious optimism is well-founded. I worry not only about the physical impact on individuals, such as less physically active, less connected to the natural world, but I seriously worry about the brain drain of creativity. It's incredibly hard and time-consuming to be with your own mind and work through to your own unique perspective or creation. When I was young I had a fantastic imagination, creating songs, even entire languages. I worry that with images, messages and information constantly flooding our lives we will lose our ability to be with our own mind, and thus our own creations/contributions. Although we have more access to putting things out in the world, like this blog, I wonder if we will truly find our own way, or if we'll become more homogeneous, more amalgamated and copies of each other.

      Delete
  3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  4. 1) The realization of how dependant we are on technology had me astounded. I personally think that we take technology for granted; if anything ever happened to it we’d all go insane. From the invention of pens to Smartphone’s, technology has made our lives a little bit easier. It never occurred to me how much we rely on technology on a daily basis. Our mornings usually start with the use of technology, using a digital clock or a phone as an alarm. Our nights end with technology; being that some of us check our texts, update our Twitter or Facebook or watch our favourite TV. show before we go to sleep. Also, the fact that it is now also called an addiction was really new to me. When I learned that they need internet rehab centres in South Korea for youth who claimed to have an addiction to the internet, and after hearing what they had to say about their addiction, I was shocked that it could be such a concern.

    2) I can strongly say that technology is the main reason why I'm sleep deprived half of the time, especially at school. Twitter and Facebook being my biggest addiction, I spend hours at night on them. Whereas, if they didn't exist I would probably get better sleep at night, which obviously affects my attention span at school. As well as, what Ms. Bertrand brought up today in class was absolutely correct; anxiety builds in me whenever I don’t have my phone with me. The feeling of being disconnected and not knowing what’s going with the world is what usually triggers it. Another way it is personally impacting me is that I see my 10 year old sister and her friends are so much more different than how I was when I was her age. She relies on online gaming and the phone to communicate with her friends rather than actually going outside and playing with them and interacting with them.

    3) Technology is drastically changing our future, just recently I found out that many elementary schools are now using tablets and laptops to do work and notes. It seems that using a pen and paper is slowly becoming “old fashioned”, that says a lot! As the article by Nicholas Carr, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” says that we tend to go the internet for everything. He stated that the research that once took hours in a library can now be done in a click, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s also putting down rate of people who can truly read a book without distress, as indicated by Nicholas Carr. I strongly agree with that because I am one of those people who use Google for everything rather than going to a library and using a book to research.

    4) After ranting about all these negative prospects of technology, I'm still optimistic about technology. Just the fact that I rely so much on it makes me love it to such an extent. It does have its pros as well, it’s a great aid when it comes to school work and like I said in the previous response, it does make researching a bit easier. Not only that, but it progresses in ways that it also helps society, an example would be; cancer research and medicine. Without technology the ability to aid the ill would have been close to impossible. Let’s face it, this world pretty much runs on technology and we’re nothing without it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your optimism is valid and deserved. You say that we're "nothing without it." I hope not. We utilize it and definitely depend on it, but we have to be able to depend on our own capacities as well.

      Delete
  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's very impressive Lynard that you're able to use the internet to empower yourself and earn an income. Like you, I too worry about our ability to think critically. Through the internet it's very easy to get the "gist" of things, but it's just that, a superficial skimming of what is there. It's important that we don't dull our abilities to be critical, thoughtful beings in all aspects of our lives.

      Delete
  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I value your opinion about "immaterial labour" and "America's Army," but these are negative aspects of technology's impact on our lives. Immaterial labour means that we are working for free, taking away jobs from people and saturating every ounce of our lives and time with work, rather than a separation. Even play becomes product and work.

      Although "America's Army" is a successful recruitment tool it dishonestly glorifies the atrocities of war, gives youth a glamorized view of warfare violence and even dupes young people into long-time commitments to fight and possibly die

      Delete
  7. 1)We all know that technology is evolving faster than ever in today’s world. Everyday there is a new surprise, a new invention of some sort in the sector of technology. But the information that surprised me the most and shocked me at the same time was the effects’ of virtual video games on our real lives. I learned about the new games like “Second Life” and “America’s Army” in the ’Virtual Lives power point’. “Second Life” is a virtual reality game where participants can create a new avatar and a whole new second life for themselves. They can own property, attend concerts, go to work and even form union and do a virtual protest. The part that perplexed me was that a player can actually sell his/her avatar for real money, to another player, known as ‘Goldmining’. Maybe it’s just me as an illiterate in the world of video games, but I couldn't understand why someone would want to spend so much of their hard earned money on a second life that is not even real. I was also astounded when I learned the fact that “One Second Life player uses as much electricity each month as a real-life Brazilian, and generates as much CO2 as an average 2,300 mile journey in an SUV”-Virtual Lives powerpoint. This demonstrates how technology and virtual games are leading to negative effects not only n our society but also on our environment. Furthermore, the game “America’s Army” is a 3D tactical shooter game developed by the US Army itself, originally as a training tool for real-American soldiers; but now it’s an important part of recruitment for soldiers. It is so far considered the most successful recruitment tool for the US military. The fact that US has Army stores in their malls, where they let the youth play the game and then recruit them on the spot made me feel a little bit weary. It made me think that slowly technology is taking over our minds’ and lives. Everything we do involves some kind of technology, and now even for recruiting real life soldiers? Where is technology leading us? It is true that it’s advancing everyday and making our lives a lot easier in a lot of ways, but at the same time, looking at these kinds of effects on our society, it makes me wonder if it’s actually worth it.

    2)Technology has changed everyone’s lives immensely. Personally, I feel like technology hasn't changed me as an individual but rather has changed my lifestyle. I trust Google more than myself or anyone, to provide me with answers. I find myself getting impatient with my family, friends, and even with myself really fast if I don’t get an instant answer like Google does. I barely have any creativity left in me, than I used to when I was younger. Social Networking sites like Facebook have become a substantial part of our lives. I become anxious if I don’t check my email, Facebook or phone at least once or twice a day for any messages. Sometimes I find myself inclining towards my smartphone to check my facebook, while I’m in the middle of doing an assignment or a project. This addiction further leads to procrastinating and then ending up disrupting my sleep. Except my close family members or few friends, I barely talk to anyone on the phone, because I can ‘text’ or ‘facebook’ them. Why waste one’s energy to actually communicate verbally with people? Technology has a significant impact on people’s intimacy as well. ‘Chatting’ or ‘Texting’ makes it so much easier to say something intimate or important to another person, than it would be face to face. We can call technology the social life of today’s generation. Instead of playing with friends outside, kids’ prefer playing video games at home. My own younger brother finds his computer games more ‘fun’ than going to the park and playing physical games. Overall, I think even tough technology helps us in one way or other everyday and is great asset to today’s world; it is also making us lazy, anti-social and incompetent with our critical and creative thought process.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your point about trusting Google more than you even trust yourself and others is interesting, and unfortunate. We should develop our own capacities enough to trust them; that's how we grow, learn, and develop a self-reliant self. It's also important to remember that Google is paid by advertisers, so the sites that come up when using Google are not necessarily reliable, but just the sites that Google has a contract with. Furthermore, just because it's on the internet does not make it valid. We have to remember to question our sources and their views rather than swallowing them whole-heartedly.

      Delete
  8. 3)Technology is changing our present and future tremendously. Where, schools used to have only limited amount of computers for important work, now every school is getting tablets and laptops for students to work on. Teachers like Ms Bertrand are encouraging students to use internet and technology as a platform to voice their opinion on certain issues, instead of making them write on a piece of paper. Through internet distances have become much shorter. With one click on the mouse, we can reach another country, another world and meet/talk to people while looking at them. Few years ago this would've seemed like almost impossible and laughable. But today technology and internet have made it possible for us to actually believe that ‘nothing is impossible’. Most jobs in future are going to be in the field of technology and computers. The work scenario is changing rapidly as well. In so many jobs people can do most of their work sitting at home. But with all the positive effects, technology also has some negative effects on our personal lives. Technology is changing our identities in many ways. It is affecting our daily privacy and intimacy. As we read in the worksheet: “Technology and Issues of Privacy, Identity and Intimacy”, it people feel the need to post every thought and emotion on the social media. “We watch and want to be watched” I think that social sites have provided us with a place where we can form opinions about others and listen to others’ opinions as well. We as human beings crave attention and that is what networking sites like “facebook” o “twitter” provide us with, and we enjoy it. But we don’t realize that at the same time we are losing our privacy of personal thoughts and modifying our personalities and identities. Therefore, I surmise that like everything technology also has some advantages and disadvantages. It is improving our lives more and more everyday with its inventions in the field of medicine, entertainment and social media. But at the same time, it is taking over our personal lives and changing us not only as individuals but as a society.

    4)I perceive myself to be somewhere in the middle of optimism and pessimism towards technology. I highly appreciate the advances of technology and its’ contribution towards improving our lives for the better. The advances in health and medicine have proved to be very beneficial and I am sure they will keep on advancing and getting better. The easy access to all the information in the world has made our lives so much easier and has provided with so much knowledge as well. I acknowledge the fact that through technology and internet, the world has come closer and communication with anyone anywhere in the world is not a problem at all. Technology definitely has added to our daily lives a lot. But at the same time, I can’t help but be critical about the fact that it is indeed taking over our social lives and causing addiction in large numbers. It scares me that there are already three rehab centers for people addicted with technology. It makes me wonder if this is the kind of society and lives we are headed towards. Has technology become that important in our lives that have started having issues like “Hypersociality”? It is leading us to becoming anxious and impulsive day by day. Therefore, I think I am both optimistic and pessimistic towards technology and its impact on our lives.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your comments are well-founded. It's true that our future is techno-rich, but therefore it makes essential capacities even more imperative, like critical and creative thinking, and effective communication. If what we think and say will be made ever-so-public through our future studies and employment, then we must tenaciously develop our skills that exist outside the technological tools so that what we confront or create and put our into the "world wide web" is the best possible representation of ourselves.

      Delete
  9. 1) The thing about technology that surprised me the most was definetly the part about "data mining". The fact that we are monitored while we are surfing the web is pretty creepy in my opinion, but not only are we monitored ; our data is stored and used to advertise things to us. After we are "data mined" we are fed tonnes of spam and reccomendations that is based on our previous web history. This is very shocking to me because while you are online you expect full privacy , but we are receiving the complete opposite. The reason why I was so surprised by this process is because the stuff you accex online seems confidential, its only you that knows what you go on. In reality though, you are being monitored like a test subject and being used to be advertised to in hopes of increased sales or whatever te case maybe.
    2) In my life technology is the ultimate controller. Technology impacts every aspect of my life one way or another, whether its sleep cycles,hobbies, or even how I spend my spare time. For me the biggest part of my life that is affected by technology is I my sleep cycles. I say sleep because my patterns are messed up. Sometimes I don't wake up on time because the alarm clock doesn't go off and sometimes I don't go to sleep because I want to watch "one more" episode of the TV series I'm following. Technology messes with me and my sleep in many ways and it affects my everyday life because it causes me to be late or tired and unable to perform daily activities properly. Overall technology has changed my life in many ways, good and bad ; but sleeping is one of the problems that affects me on an everyday basis.
    3) I think technology is changing our future in every way possible but mostly making it easier for us. Work for eg, it is much easier to do with tools available to us, not just computers but tools in general. No matter what trade your in there are technological advances that make ur day easier, and there will be plenty more. Also transportation, we have cars, motorcycles, buses etc you can get anywhere you want easier. As we grow older there are becoming more ways to travel place to place such as the skytrain. The rate and manner in which technology has switched our lifestyles I the let 15 years is drastic and in no way is it slowing down. Overall technology is making our future seem much easier for us.
    4) In terms of technology I'm in the middle, neither pessimist nor optimist. I am in the middle because technology is a double edged sword, it does plenty good for humanity but at the same time causes much chaos. For example, technology has created hearing aids for people who have trouble hearing, which indeed is a major component of life, but at the same time things such as in ear head phones and loud speakers damage ears a significant amount. Even though that is just a small problem In society there are so many like that (from a technology perspective). To me these type of conflicts are why I don't choose to be a pessimist or optimist, I believe it depends on how you use it. Anything could be considered evil if it gets in the wrong hands , but also genius if in the right hands.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're very right Billy, it is "a double edged sword." That is what this mini-exploration unit was all about, trying to explore the aspects of technology we may not be aware of, and through critical awareness, better use this tool.

      Delete
  10. 1) The most surprising aspect of my learning in my opinion was the realization to how serious the issue of becoming addicted to technology worldwide. I always subconsciously knew that we are all minimally addicted to our devices but the more I come to think of it, the more I begin to realize our life has become solely dependent on modern technology. Including multitasking, we spend around 11.5 hours every day in front of a screen; to spend even 4 hours seems absurd to my mind but we have just begun to incorporate technology such as television, cellphones, computers, etc. in our daily lives at such an extent that we don’t even see how much time we are dedicating on a daily basis. When people worldwide are having to setup rehabilitation centres for technology addictions, it is obvious that we need to become serious about addressing this concern. Kids are beginning to lose sight of reality and starting to actually believe more in their virtual counterparts. Compared to not only the era of our parents, even we weren’t as technology at the age of five compared to modern three year old in today’s world.
    2) My life has been heavily altered my modern day technology, this is undeniable. Now the controversial part to this is that it along with its benefits holds a lot of negative components. To begin it all off, starting my day in an energized state is now officially next to impossible. Sleeping at the right time with a constantly buzzing phone as well as the attractions of your television and laptop is too hard in our modern age. There are way too many distractions for you to even consider holding importance to important aspects such as sleep and rest. If you manage to convince yourself to get to bed, it is now proven that we have begun to feel anxiety and a sickness feeling in our stomach. I can confirm this with personal experience. Without my phone, my mind goes into this panic state as well as I begin to get very hyper and fidgety. My critical thinking ability has been neutrally affected as I have noticed both positive and negative influences. On the positive side of the spectrum, our access to the internet has greatly increased the amount of knowledge we have access to. It is not only more efficient than trying to first find the book, and then the information after but also we are able to nowadays see other people’s opinions on the matters. Opinions hold the ability to spark debate which only leads to a better understanding of the topic. In respect to its negative influence, I believe our patience level is slowly decreasing and our mind is starting to automatically desire to skim through articles trying to catch the main points rather than wait and try to understand what is trying to be said as a whole. Intimacy has been controversially affected as well. Through technology today, it is easier to find out where a person’s interests lie as you can simply search this up now compared to actually having to ask them in a real life conversation. This has made it easier to understand those quiet people in the corner, who never seem to talk, but people have begun to prefer online communication and are almost afraid to communicate in real life as those basic skills and abilities are slowly becoming eroded due to a lack of usage. Overall, the more serious effects on our brain are yet to be discovered in my opinion, but at the moment the beneficial parts sure seem to outweigh the negative ones simply due to the fact that our lives are becoming simpler and easier thanks to the modern age.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very valid point regarding the easy access to numerous opinions and ideas. It is very empowering, meaning that the "truth" isn't contained in the pages of authoritative text. The access to multiplicity allows for easier collaboration and creation of new knowledge. It's just important to keep the critical gaze on the sources, their authority, bias, and to keep our own independent critical processes flowing.

      Delete
  11. 3) Technology is clearly an important part of our future as it is an important indication of our progress in terms of evolving as a civilization. Once again, it is making life easier and harder for people in its own way. One simple example is the idea of machines making work easier and more efficient for us, but this is at the expense of the jobs of many. When there is less work, there will be a smaller need for workers. How are people expected to survive without jobs because with our current progress, there will end up being no need for human workers. Learning has become both easier and harder in the same respect. Our access to such vast amounts of knowledge is infinite but we are slowly losing the ability to process it all as we are just understand the important points due to the overload of information. Relationships are becoming weaker too. Families are too busy watching television on using their cellphones than actually caring about how each other’s days went. It has even become easier to cheat on others as relationships are now easier to function through communication using only texts and social networking. With communication solely dependent on no physical contact, there is no set limit to how many people one can be at once anymore. The slow erosion of communications skills is also evident when talking about relationships as people are only comfortable using intimate language through texts and Facebook.
    4) Technology is such a part of our daily lives that by saying technology is completely horrible would be a bit hypocritical. There is no doubt that technology is amazing and useful in its own individual ways but we need remember to keep a control over our usage. We also need to remember to properly prioritize our lives by remembering to value to simpler things in life such as family time and physical/personal relationships with people in REAL life! No doubt life has become easier, more efficient, and easier in our modern age but some things can only be experienced by actually living through them personally. I don’t think anybody would trade in their vacuums for broomsticks but need to realize work isn’t always a bad thing. It is actually a very important component in learning as exactly like the common cliché states, “practice makes perfect”. My biggest concern at the end of the day honestly lies simply in the well-being of humanity as a whole. I have seen too many movies about robots becoming smarter and taking over by eliminating all of our civilization to take that idea lightly anymore. My final position regarding technology wouldn’t be pessimistic or optimistic; I feel the word confused accurately describes how I feel. There are way too many good and bad aspects that balance and varyingly outweigh each other for me to pick a fixed position, as explained in my paragraphs above.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Confused is a good place to be. It means you're still considering, acquiring ideas, experiences and questioning it all. It's a very healthy place to be with regards to this complex, and far-from-definitive issue. Also, I second your cliche, although convenience is appreciable, work is important. Although I have less fear of losing society to thinking machines that take over.

      Delete
  12. 1)For me the most surprising the advancement of technology. All these companies today like Apple, Microsoft, and many more companies, they all make their living by selling their products. They feed and capitalize on this addiction. Like just a few years ago Apple launched Ipad and today every company has an Ipad and some kind of similar tablet on the market. This has surprised me a lot. "Data mining" never really surprised me a lot as it was really obvious that what ever is done or researched on the internet has to have some kind of backup file system that saves whatever we search and research about. One more that has surprised me a lot is that the affect it has on life. Today technology is everywhere and it has taken over a lot of things in our lifestyle's. Like now we don't read books but we research on internet as it more resourceful and less time consuming. It has surprised me a lot because i was one of those kids that would love to read books but now I don't even want to touch a book if it isn't school related.
    2)Technology has affected me the same way it has affected others. Technology plays a big role in everyone's life. It has made life easier in countless ways. In my condition it has affected my sleeping order in a big way. My sleeping pattern is messed up i barely get sleep some nights. I am more focused on staying up and watching tv shows and playing video games rather than sleeping and getting a good night sleep. Another way how technology has affected is by affecting my attention order. Before i could just focus on one thing till I have finished working on it but now this hardly happens. I am distracted way too easily. Even if i am not using technology, no computer or other devices i still have this urge to use some kind of device and check and research. If I don't understand something my first resource to look at is a computer instead of the books. Once of this device sometimes i won't even use it use for the information required but get distracted and do something else.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Our devices can be a great help for reference, but sometimes it seems that because we look things up so quickly and easily we never really think and internalize the information we retrieved, and thus lose out on turning it into our own knowledge.

      Delete
  13. 3) Since introduced technology has affected our life's big time and over time it is going to keep advancing and affecting us. Just a decade ago or maybe 2 decades ago, we didn't have this much information and advanced technology. Computer's, television and all these other things were still there but they weren't this common. In our future technology has a big role to play because our life's are going to based on these devices. In our future people would probably won't even need to work, they would have computer's replacing them. Technology will keep advancing and there's no end to it in any near future. Even today it has already started taking over as many schools now use ipad's, laptop's and other electronic devices to teach instead of books. Technology will affect us big time as one day it would control the one's that created it. It would make our life's much easier. It would bring in some really great inventions that would change our lifestyles.
    4) I am the middle man in between optimist and pessimist. These inventions has been some of the best inventions in human race. For me technology is something that has a great and positive affect on human race. It is because of this technology that we are able to connect with our relatives that life miles away with just a click of button. We can diagnose health problems before they a big danger in our life's or in some cases even they before they occur. Human's now have a bigger lifespan. Due to all these inventions people can now travel places, play video games, connect with other's, Do their jobs even from home, have so much resourceful information within few seconds. Even with all these great advantages of this incredible invention there are also side affects with it as well. Some people can't use it without getting addicted to it, for some it's not user friendly, for some its really hard to understand and get used to it. Technology isn't just computers and electronic's, technology is everything. The ink that we use to print papers is technology from the big airplanes and spaceships to a pen, pencil sharpener, these are all a part of technology. For me Technology is one great invention that is going to keep advancing with no end in near future

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very true, advancement is crucial and unending

      p.s. edit your communications thoroughly, line by line, so you don't become a prime example of our "corrections community"

      Delete
  14. 1)Something that surprised me the most about technology was the concept of data-mining. I never would have imagined we are being watched, so that we would be better interested in the internet. We are being sent the same sites and advertisements, meaning we are constantly consuming ourselves. Another statistic that has surprised me is from the power point “technology and us”, it is said youth spend an average of 7.5 hours a day in front of a screen, but because of multitasking it is more accurately 11.5 hours every day. I was astonished to see how high these numbers are, it is basically the whole day time. I personally probably do spend this much time in front of a screen on some days without even knowing it. Especially because lately everyone is so used to multitasking, looking at how now convenient it is.

    2)Technology has changed my life in many ways, especially because it is all around us. I feel earlier in the years such as the early 1990’s there was less usage of technology causing me to play outside, and have more exercise and time to spend with my family and friends. Then over time there were more developments, making me get easily distracted with these devices. For one I think my sleeping cycle was negatively impacted, I always want to watch just one more show, or send one more text, which eventually turns into many more. I think it just becomes a bad habit, leaving me to feel exhausted and not be able to fully function for school. I definitely feel it can cause anxiety for some, because it adds to the big list of what you feel you have to do. Instead of having face to face conversations, it’s your way of keeping up to date and in touch with everyone, which can lead to stress. I don’t think technology has entirely resulted into no critical thinking, but I for sure think it has lessened it. There are so many easy ways out, that it seems doing the work is not even worth it. Many websites can just do the thinking for you and summarise everything into bite size bits of information that are easily processed by your brain. All that is needed to be done is to search it onto Google. Except at the same time there are different forms of technology like music, which can help you focus more and better understand concepts. This can even open up your imagination more. I think for myself technology has just been an obstacle for me to overcome, because I always have this urge to focus all my attention to either my phone or the laptop instead of doing more important things. I tend to put more my priorities off to until last minute.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Procrastination has always been a challenge for people. We want to spend our time in what gratifies us, rather than the responsibilities imposed upon us. Technology has definitely made this more of an uphill battle. You're right, prioritization is key, and continual diligence is required.

      Delete
  15. 3)I think technology is definitely changing the future. We are becoming too dependent of it, and soon are going to feel we cannot function without it. Also I feel for the future technology is going to negatively affect our environment. It was said in the power point that every one player in the game called second life uses as much electricity each month as a real life Brazilian; it also generates as much CO2 an average 2300 mile journey in a SUV would. So taking this in regards, if more people were to start to play this game and at a continuous rate, it could damage our environment in many ways, even lead to global warming. One thing that has continuously been improved is communication; I feel many forms of technology have made it easier to get in touch with relatives and friends. Especially for those who are overseas, and even for work related reasoning.
    4)I would say I lean more in the middle of a pessimist and optimist. I feel technology has both positively and negatively affected our lives. For one technology such as medicine, transportation, and communication have gotten us where we stand today. Technology has been the key reason humans have prospered and succeeded in many fields. Without technology we would not be able to survive from many diseases, the common flue probably could have led too much more endangering our lives. Also transportation is something that is well needed in our world, many of us find jobs far away, this just adds to easing our lives. Communication on the other hand is something that consists in our lives all the time; in order to further we need to communicate. Through new technologies we don’t have to worry about either not having enough time, or for not being physically present because it can help fill you in easily. Some negative impacts of technology I see are there is a loss of critical thinking, we tend to not care as much and take the easy way out. It seems there always is a new machine out that can do much more than the previous one, so we decide to go with it and that takes away from what we do for ourselves. We become way too dependent on these devices to do everything for us. I think soon there will be many more people to become addicted to technology, and we will have this need to only operate with it. I think technology will cause people to suffer from severe anxiety.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah I agree that we are becoming very depended on technology for everything, especially for spell check.

      Delete
    2. I agree Tina and Tanvir. As an English teacher I have seen the detriment of technology to individuals' ability to self-regulate, think and correct independently

      Delete
  16. The information that surprised me the most was about people taking the internet/ video games as an addiction. Usually most people joke about being addicted to technology but it is a seriously matter. The information we went through made it real to me that people do suffer from being addicted to technology .The most surprising thing I found was the game “Second Life” , which allows one to make a virtual life and create a new life however you may please . The amount of hours and money that is spent on this game is ridiculous. It also amazes when we watched the documentary about South Korea “Digital Nation”, which shows teenagers going to rehab for video games. The teenagers were learning regular childhood games. I hope when I have children they are not sucked into technology that much. I want them to already know how to do basic childhood activities without learning in a rehab center.

    My personal life has definitely changed due to technology. My communication has drastically changed the most. Technology has its positives and negatives. For one texting has become a positive and negative in my life. The positive of texting is it allows quick question to be fast and simple apposed to calling someone starting a conversation and being on the phone for hours. Another positive texting is being able to talk to my mom or dad to tell them where I’m and when I’m coming home. Instead of going out and having them worry, I can give them a quick text letting them know everything. A negative issue texting brings is misunderstanding a text .Many people can misinterpret the meaning or the tone in a text. Also switching into “text mode” and “school writing” becomes difficult. The fact I am constantly text makes me shorten words. In class sometimes I misspell words unknowingly because I am accustom to the way I write through a text or internet.

    I think the way we learn in schools will be changing in the future. I think that it has already started to change but I think it is going to go further. I think that there will be no use for teachers, the computers or some other high tech technology will be the teachers. “Teachers“ will be known as supervisors and they would just make sure the technology is working properly. The students would have fewer hours in a classroom because they would need to be in one classroom. I think the supervisors would take less schooling years than a current teacher take. The students would have no required courses; just the courses that will help them succeed in life.

    Technology has come a long way, like many things in life there are pros and cons. I think technology is wonderful because it helps us connect with family members or friends from across the country or world. It allows scientist and researches to discover new things about our world. Technology has helped police officers, doctors, teachers, students, lawyers, and many more professions and people. Technology has also made people addicts to phones, computers and video games .Then again too much of anything is not decent for anyone. For the most part I support technology but the way it is going needs to simmer down because in the end humans may never have a mind of their own.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Interesting ideas about our future Irene. Technology may very well result in less renaissance students, taking many, many courses, and more individuals who specialize and take fewer studies. This is empowering, and has the potential to pigeon-hole many people in the future, restricting our worlds and exposure to the multiplicity of studies available.

      Delete
  17. The rate of young teenagers who are addicted to technology makes it more apparent that we are dependent on technology. Teenagers spend all day on the internet and are spending less and less time interacting with their peers and family face to face rather than threw face time. We are surrounded by technology and to unplug for one day and to become physically sick initiates that the “tech” world has a huge impact on our daily life style for the negative and positive ways. Negative effects which in most aspects we do not think of include less family time. Rather than playing a board game or go out for a walk we choose technology alternatives such as the “Wii” game were you can play games like tennis in the comfort of your living room. Positively we have came through with many amazing medical outbreaks such as finding cure for diseases and with a simple tests such a MRI’s we can afford to save people’s lives and cause them to experience life to the fullest.

    Technology has affected my life positively in the following ways; it allows me to communicate with my family who I do not live close by. It keeps my family in touch. It allows me to interact with my friends without going to their homes. Negatively technology has changed my life by keeping me up at night and interfering with my sleeping patterns. It keeps my family occupied so it hinders when we are trying to spend time together. Future generations have a lot to worry about the younger generation is already showing dependency on new technology for instance; my younger cousin is dependent on technology if he is not on the laptop you can find him playing “XBOX” if not there most likely he is watching TV and if not sleeping lastly he is probably playing on his “PSP”!

    Technology is changing our future in a good way by allowing us to cure diseases and come up with new medicines. Also technology hinders in the learning of the future generation by enabling them to use technology to make it easier for then. A new example is Apple has came out with a “Mini IPad specifically designed for small hands it teaches children to depend on technology and new innovations will make it easier for them to learn. Another example is this current assignment instead of writing our responses out onto a piece of paper we are told to post online to further communicate with our peers it is expected of our society that everyone has some type of gadget which we can access internet on and it goes to show how no matter what in some way we are all always “plugged-in”.

    Technology has it advantages, in one hand it helps with new innovations and medical discoveries. But it also makes it impossible to unplug and keep your life simple and technology and stress free. We are surrounded my technology at home, school and work it keeps us occupied and in our own worlds. If someone wants a break I feel the only option is to become a monk and join a monastery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I fully appreciate your point that we assume everyone has access to a device and the internet. It's true that many don't; therefore, we need to be aware of who in our society is being left out, left behind because of this expectation.

      I don't know if we'll need to hide out in a monastery to "unplug," but perhaps.

      Delete
  18. 1. Something that surprised me about technology was that the amount of technology we use. In the power point “Technology and Us” one of the statistic for the amount of time youth spend in front of a screen was, on average they spend 7.5 hours a day and because of multitasking it is up to 11.5 hours a day. This piece of information was the most shocking to me because I never thought about how much time we actually spend sitting in front of a computer or television screen. The fact that nearly half of our day is spent in front of a screen is astonishing. For me personally I spend on average about 19 hours a week watching television which is not as much as the statistic and that is why I was so shocked by the statistic.
    2. Technology itself has changed the entire world from the way we think to the way we communicate. It has impacted our private lives and our sleep cycles the most. In this modern day and age the ability to find out anything about anybody is made easy because of the many social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. We have no idea who out there in the world has seen our profiles and knows about what personal information we have posted. Without knowing it all of our private information is viewed by the public. The very thin line between private and public is slowly being erased. Every link we click on, all the information we share is being stored and monitored by the government. The movie Social Network proved just that by showing us how we can post all of our information online for the world to see but with a blind eye as to what is really being protected. Another aspect in our lives that has been drastically impacted is our sleep cycle. On average we are supposed to be getting 8 hours of sleep a night but since it is so easy to be online 24/7 we most likely are getting a maximum of 3-4 hours a night. The loss of sleep begins to affect us throughout the entire day. In the clips of “Digital Media” the young Asian boy who was sent to rehab for his addiction to online gaming proves that we give up essential needs in our life such as sleep for the world of technology.
    3. There are many ways technology is changing our future but I think the biggest way it is changing our future is education and learning wise. The “Technology and Us” power point had slides about infobesity (information overload) and one of the examples was that mass information is too much for a person, and this leads to superficial reading. This example amplifies that because of our easy access to mass amounts of information online which we skim through leads us to start skimming through every set of information that is given to us, because of this our education and learning is deeply affected.
    4. My perspective towards technology is neither towards either side. I would say that I am in the middle of being optimistic and pessimistic because I feel the development of technology has both its pros and cons. Throughout the development of technology we have made some remarkable discovers, in the way we communicate. Now because technology we get information out to many people in a short amount of time and it also gave us a voice. There are also many cons such as being glued to technology and always being plugged into some sort of device. At times I do feel that the rapid development of technology is turning our society into mind numbing machines, who are constantly in front of a screen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Technology has very much so given people "a voice." This empowerment is vital. It allows for more opinions and ideas to be shared and for the development of ideas and creations to occur at a faster rate than in previous decades. Yet you make a good point that the private and public are blurred. As such we have to fight to keep some parts of our lives for ourselves, for those who are truly in our lives, not just 1, 001 twitter followers

      Delete
  19. 1) Throughout this unit, an immense amount of information has been learned and discussed about technology. Information that suprised me about technology was about “data mining” and the delay of traditional adulthood, which was stated in "Technology Critical Exploration Unit" and "Technology Exploration: Privacy, Identity, and Intimacy" worksheet. “Data-mining” is when specific sites or advertisements are recommended to you due to your searches or visited websites. This suprised me because I never knew that the Internet tracked each individual’s web history and limits the information we obtain. I always thought that the information we obtain using the internet was vast and unlimited. “Data-mining” limits individuals into accessing information and instead, individuals will be “fed” with the same information over and over again. Another information that surprised me was about the delay of traditional adulthood. Recently, I have noticed that mature information is being handled at an earlier age. For example, my mother would often mention how safe sex and reproduction was not taught when she was in highschool compared to today when it is taught as early as grade six. Although we are asked to handle mature information, some are unable to complete the markers of adulthood. This paradox negatively affects teens in this generation and onwards. The transition is delayed and the actual maturity us teens should be experiencing is not happening.





    2) Technology has changed the way humans live today. It has impacted the world and changed our understanding of how things work and how others react with one another. The changes that technology contributed to my life are the way I read, sleep deprivation and bipower. Ever since technology has woven its way into my life, I have noticed significant changes. Nowadays, I find myself skimming and scanning through articles or books instead of focusing on the details. Once I see the length of a piece of literature, my mind automatically starts to skim. My attention span and lack of concentration decreased compared to how it was when I was younger. Sites like Youtube, Twitter and Facebook are an influential part of a youth's life. I often find myself getting distracted by these sites instead of doing homework or studying. Instead of prioritizing what is important, I would often find myself constantly checking for updates or emails- which has deprived me of sleep. Bipower is one of the most prominent changes I have noticed in my lifestyle, which is an issue that has concerned me for a while. For example, not having my phone with me at all times causes anxiety. I feel as if I am not connected with the world around me. This anxiety sometimes causes me to believe that my phone has vibrated due to a recieved text when I have not recieved one at all. Overall, technology has greatly changed the world and our understanding. But the negative effects of it towards each individuals' lifestyle is evident.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The delayed markers of adulthood are significant and surprising. What will our society be when so many of our "adults" are not fully experiencing and living up to the markers needed to be impactful adults in the world? We'll have to see how this affects everything from the economy to maturity in society.

      Delete
  20. 3) Technology is an important aspect of modern society and how it functions. It is what determines the progression made by our evolving world and the likelyhood of the future. For example, the change in how others communicate with one another has greatly evolved. Instead of communicating face to face, nowadays people often text, email or even just using FaceTime. Although this is beneficial for those who can use this to communicate with their loved ones or friends oversees, this type of communicatioin has led to the decrese of people's ability to actually being able to hold a conversation face to face. Also, the way of learning has drastically changed. Before, students would often research for a project using books or going to the library. Instead, students would just go on the Internet and with just two clicks, the information is right in front of them. However, this vast access to information has its pros and cons. Although this information is now abundant and free, the knowledge that is obtained online is not as valuable compared to what is found through books. We are slowly losing the ability to process the mass information and are unable to generate all of it simply because we prioritize just the main points. Even though technology is an important aspect of modern society, our lives and our future should not soley depend on it

    4) When it comes to technology, I am neither a optimist or a pessimist. Technology is deeply woven in our society and is a part of how our society works. Undeniably, the changes that technology has brought to our world has been useful. It has made functioning efficient and quick, but its effects on humanity soley depends on each individuals. Technology has greatly contributed to the line of medicine and science, which I think will progress later on in the future. But, we all have to remember that we cannot depend on technology to run our lives or do everything for us. It can be helpful, but not to the point where we prioritze it. We need to value the simple things in life and the people around us. Communication should be intimate and meaningful instead of relying on a device that will deliver the messsage instead of saying it yourself in person. Overall, technology has become a big part of our lives that we cannot get rid of easily. It is important to have self-control when it comes to something as addictive as technology. Life is too short to give importance to a machine!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree that technology is not interwoven into the very fabric of our day-to-day society. Our critical awareness hopefully helps us fend against "giv[ing] importance to a machine!" We have to see and act towards the preservation of the best parts of our humanity, separate and enhanced by technology.

      Delete
    2. I agree with the fact that we cannot get rid of technology easily, as it's woven in lives now. So it depends on us as individuals to prioritize our lives and limit our use of technology and internet, so that we don't end up in the category of 'internet addicts'.

      Delete
  21. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  22. 1.) Technology is growing at a rapid rate. Big companies like Sony and Samsung as well as the military always come out with new and improved technology which always seems to blow our minds. From all these new advanced programs or devices data mining and a term called internet use disorder really surprise me. I found it really scary and kind of as a being stalked on thing when I first learned about data mining. I always wondered how big internet websites like Google, facebook and YouTube would always seem to know the things i'm into and show me my own personal information. Now I would say I spend my share of good time using the internet however i’m not constantly using it like the guys in South Korea. That was another very surprising fact in where these people devote and spend their lives on the internet literally 24/7. It’s even gone so far to the point where some of those internet addicted users are being sent to boot camps to help overcome the urge to use the net. Technology is becoming a very scary and powerful tool for humans, so powerful that our future is technology.
    2.) For most people on earth technology aids and advances our lives. Until you get obsessed with new gadgets and technological advances is when you start experiencing problems like ruined sleep cycles and anxiety. Sometimes I also get caught up constantly using my phone. Not so far to the point where I mess up my sleeping cycle and get sleep deprived because I know when I need to put my phone down and let the urge go away. I’m constantly sleeping during the day. I actually sleep so much where people start to wonder if I sleep at all during night. I would say i’m like a sleeping giant because I sleep at every chance I get. However some kids in South Korea actually don’t sleep at all to stay up all night and day to play video games. As well as skip meals to get some extra time in. Its scary what technology can do to people, soon were going to be so lazy that machines would do simple house work like fetching items and chores. But in this new era everyone is looking to live the simple lifestyle.
    3.) Technology is our future. People depend on it today; they’ll depend on it even more tomorrow. It has its pros and cons however I personally think its going to impact humanity negatively. Not just because one day the network might crash however because there is so much technology can do for us that there is really going to be no need to utilize our body and mind to be creative or think and move around. All our mind needs to be capable of is simply interacting with new technology. Just like in the Ted Talks video it talks about how schools switched over to laptops and other devices to learn instead of books and lectures. In a way this is good to learn off of but we really need to keep hands on learning and communication as forms of learning to keep the creativeness and progress our minds. If technology were to help utilize our brains and help use more than about 10% of it i’m all in! However it doesn’t really seem that way. Furthermore, positive effects of future technology would aid humans in discovery. I’m a really curious person and humans have only explored about 0.9% of the ocean floor. I really want to know what lies in the other 99%. As well as land we have only explored about 2.4% if I remember correctly. The world is a fascinating place and technology is what will help us discover it.
    4.) Personally I am an extreme pessimist. Yes I use technology and may seem biased. However I use it to keep up. And its helping us in the present but in the future it will too but not to advance our body and minds so we need to keep some of our past in the future.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Sleeping giant" I appreciate your curiosity and love the example of 99% of the ocean floor still available for our human discovery. You're absolutely right, technology is a tool that can greatly support and enhance our human curiosity, an imperative asset that we should foster.

      Delete
  23. 1)The information that surprised me the most was the idea of data mining. How the internet and Google feed us data and organize our
    thought process and present us information based on our preferences. Another aspect of internet use that shocked me was the addiction of gaming and online internet use. For example the young boy from Korea, who we watched a documentary about, isolated himself from his mother and neglected his school work. His whole childhood was destroyed by gaming and that lead to the only possibility which was counselling. I have never heard of counselling for those who are addicted to the internet especially the fact that these counselors have to re-teach young kids how to have an active and non-internet
    childhood is mind blowing.
    2) My phone has become a part of me now. It is impossible to go a day without texting my friends or just having it in my hand is calming. I feel the need to always be updated on what is going on with my friends on Facebook and followers on twitter.Technology impacts me in both a negative way and positive way. Just like Marinela said how she scans and skims through books instead of focusing on the details is what I always do. I have the habit of
    skipping pages during my homework or when I study just to get through it faster to go on the internet and because I am so accustomed to skimming through social media posts. A major effect I believe technology has in on our sleep. Nowadays you can sign in on twitter or Facebook at 4am and some of your friends will still be online. Also in the article "Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction" they have stated that this boy Vishal would rather spend his time watching a movie instead of reading the written version because it is easier, is what young teenagers appeal to today and that has impacted students learning abilities.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's interesting that so many of you mention the sleep patterns and insomnia, up till all hours socializing. Do you think that youth today get into more trouble because of this? Do you think parents realize the full extent of the use and impact? When I was a teen every once in a while a friend would call my house really late at night, then they'd have to hear from an angry, sleepy dad or mom. There was no easy access in the in-between hours for my friends to reach me. After 10 pm I was truly in every way home with family and disconnected from my social network till the next day. I wonder if such boundaries are better?

      Delete
  24. 3)Technology has become a true distraction to learning for sure. While you are doing homework and you receive a text form your friend you have to check what the message says. No matter how urgent it is for you to study, reading that text is just mandatory. It has become easier for students to do their homework. With the click of the mouse you can search up exactly what you are looking for, for a homework assignment in 2 minutes and it's just the matter of copy and pasting the information and you are done. The significance of learning and experience new ideas has totally disappeared If today's teenagers are getting work done that simply I can not imagine what our kids will be doing to learn or do their homework in the future.
    4)I think I have more of an in between perspective. Technology has never failed to amaze me and there is no way of imagining how much more great development can happen to
    technology such as the Iphone or T.V's. On the other hand those people who are considered addicted and are risking their personal health just to sit in front of a screen all day are crazy! Also the fact that our society is centered around a technological environment leads us to believe that a media based world is going to be the future.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Media-based world is inevitable I think. Remember when there were cars, or skytrains or shopping mall food courts without televisions rolling? There once was a time when you were outside of your living room you were truly in that public space, without media advertisements. Although ironically, as our world becomes more saturated with media, traditional forms of media are also dying, like the newspaper. This is really scary. What will happen when all of our news is fed to us through twitter and blogs, rather than reputable, researched news sources with authoritative journalists?

      Delete
  25. 1) A lot of different information about technology really surprised me. I was the most shocked after finding out about the personal identifying information. The fact that Google has the ability and the power to track our every activity and action online is astonishing and kind of creepy. When we go online we expect to get a variety of different results collected from sources all over the world. Instead we are fed our own preferences, enclosing us in a never ending cycle. From the power point, "Technology and Us" the statistic that youth on average spend 7.5 hours in front of a screen, but because of multitasking it ends up being 11.5 hours daily really shocked me. I was expecting a number closer to 7, not 11. This number is very high, and action should be taken to bring it down.

    2. I would be lying if I said technology has had a minimal effect on my life. I am heavily reliant on the internet, whether it be for research or for passing time. For me personally technology has the greatest impact on ability to concentrate on a long article. I attempt to read it, but lose focus due to the advertisements on the side. Sometimes there is no distraction present but my mind still wanders off. I also feel anxious if I don't have my phone. If my phone is not in the pocket it's suppose to be in, I get really scared. Even when I don't have a message, I feel like I can feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. Even when I'm on the computer I feel like I get a message on Facebook, when there is nothing there. I definitely have more anxiety problems because of technology. On social media people always have the need to feel famous, whether it be a lot of followers on twitter or a lot of friends on Facebook. People like the sense of being liked. They feel the more friends they have on social media, the more popular they are. This is not the case for the real life situations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, those advertisements are so distracting !

      Delete
    2. Your note of people's need to be liked is "liked" :)

      I wonder what the overall impact will be on our sense of self as a society. Will we actually be better because of this need? Will we become more of a desperate, shallow, "mean girl" society?

      Delete
  26. 1) Although a lot of new information about technology was acquired, most of it did not surprise me. However, one thing that shocked me was, from the powerpoint "Technology and Us", how networks, such as Google, "datamine" the world's Interent use. "Data-mining" is when networks store our Interent history, search patterns, online purchases, etc. so that they can recommend specific sites that appeal to each individual's interests. I found this unbelievable, because we are repeatedly shown only the things that we want to see and not all the other information or opinions from others in the world. The Internet may be easily accessible, but it is misleading in the way that we believe we are receiving limiltless information that we are not. This restricts our minds, because we are only presented with the information that we already know, not any alternative beliefs or opinions on certain areas/subjects. The acknowledgment that there were virtual layoffs and labour abuse protests, from the powerpoint, "Virtual Lives", also startled me. I did not think that people would get so worked up about getting layed off virtually, because they do not gain real money that they can actually use for real items. I also did not know that so many people took a game, such as "Second Life", so seriously and that one could make real money by selling their characters on a simple, but useless game. I consider both "datamining" and virtual lives completely pointless and I feel that it is going to make us more narrow-minded, but we will be so busy with our virtual lives that it won't even matter anymore.

    2) Technology has impacted my life and the lives of others around me in various different aspects. One way it has hugely impacted our lives is that our level of critical thinking has decreased drastically from before. For example, two years ago I was able to pick apart most literary works and understand the theme/meaning behind them. Whereas now it is becoming increasingly difficult to find the critical points in even the simpler of works. This decline in critical thinking is due to the lack of thinking for ourselves. Nowadays, when we need the answer to a question, all we have to do is search our question up in Google and read the answer. As Lynard mentioned, we no longer have to fully read books, because there is Sparknotes and other websites that provide us with a summary of the plot, which is all we really need to know. This also deteriorates our level of critical thinking. Another way technology has immensely affected us is our shortage of focus, which ties in with our capacity to think critically. We are losing our ability to focus for long periods of time. I noticed that for the past couple of years it is becoming very painful to pay attention to what others are saying, to read a book/something online or even editing my own work. My friends complain that the notes are too long in class and that they zone out soon after the teacher starts talking. We are absorbing so much information all at once, while multitasking, from the technology around us that it is diminishing our capability and willingness to focus on the information that is imporatant for our futures. This relates to our critical thinking skills, because if we can not focus on what we are reading, there is no way that we will be able to decipher its meaning and understand the point the author is trying to make. Technology is everywhere and one can not avoid it, but we should know the negative and positive impacts it has on our lives.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your demand for critical awareness of the positive and negative impacts of technology is well-founded. I appreciate your note about our rewired brains and how our multitasking has actually diminished our ability to focus.

      Delete
  27. 3) Our future with technology appears to be promising in regards to it advancing and humans experiencing the impossible. As my fellow peers have mentioned, it has become easier to communicate with loved ones across the world. One no longer has to take a plane ride to see their relatives, because of the advancements in face to face contact with screens, such as Skype and Facetime. Using these improved technologies, one is able to keep in touch with friends and family everywhere, even if they live in the same house. However, this does not mean that relationships are stronger, because although you are able to communicate easier, conversations are more of a chore than something one actually wants to do. For example, people believe that they are obliged to call and talk to relatives and loved ones, because they are able to make a connection to each other with a tap of the button. This leads people to have boring conversations about how they "feel" without actually expressing themselves truthfully and eventually it comes to the point where excuses about being busy are made just to leave the conversaion. In this way, our relationships are becoming weaker to the extent that we do not even give them importance anymore. Although this does not seem to make sense, it is true that communication is easier, but our relationships are more fragile than before.

    4) Technology has innumerable positive and negative aspects to it. I am somewhere in the middle of being an optimist or pessimist regarding technology, but leaning toward pessimist. The positive aspects to technology are advances in medicine, accompishments thought to be impossible and simply making everyone's lives easier. These improvements do not go wasted on me, but one needs to think about whether or not it is taking over the most important aspects in our lives. Relationships used to be the most important part of people's lives, but the progress in technology is taking that away from us. Everyone used to want to hang out with their friends and family and now it is communicating through texts and Facebook, but not actually meeting up in person. The growth in technology has led many to lose social skills and even jobs, as Aditya brought up. We need to realize that although technology is an important aspect in our lives, it should not be our life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not sure if I completely agree with you regarding conversations. I find that for most people we text and message, but for those who are truly a part of our lives, we take the time to talk to them, at least sometimes. Although it's interesting that you think we've become easily distracted and bored. Technology has made us more narcissistic, so your point regarding speaking excessively about our feelings, without really communicating definitely fits our current habits of entertainment, or publishing our lives again and again.

      Delete
  28. 1) I personally believe that it is possible for somebody to become addicted to the internet. In the article "An Ugly Toll of Technology: Impatience and Forgetfulness", I was stunned that some people think "it may be going too far to call it an addiction,". A clinical psychologist named Nicki Dowling prefers to call this so-called addiction “a dependence”. Absurd it is, to call an evident addiction a mere dependence. I am well-aware that as a society, we have become dependent on advancements in technology to help us stay connected and to make life easier, but I also believe that people are abusing these technologies. By abusing them, I mean using them way too much for one’s own personal entertainment. New types of phones, computers, cars etc.. were created so people don’t have to spend as much time as they used to, when trying to accomplish a task but when one finds their priorities engraved into, for example, their level in a game, is alarming. It is an addiction if that is where their time and mind is always at. With these new games, people need to realise that young people are more susceptible to being submerged into this new type of addiction and that soon enough, there will have to be some sort of out-reach to help these people leave the world of gaming behind. It is hard to quit something you have becoming entirely addicted to and in the case of the internet, it is easy to get addicted to because it is easy for people to because lost in their own little world. It gives people a false sense of inclusion if maybe they aren’t as involved with the people around them. I just believe that it is common sense for people to realize that there is such this as internet addiction and dependence but they are both unrelated, and to see someone think otherwise surprises me.


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gurminder your point about our desperate need to feel included, often through technology while completely disconnected in a sea of people is interesting. Do you think it will get worse? Technology advances in such a rapid rate and becomes entwined with all aspects of our lives. Do you think our responses to the potential pitfalls are reactive or efficient enough?

      Delete
  29. 2)
    Technology has truly changed my life is almost every way possible. Most significantly, technology has changed the way that I entertain myself. In the past, I used to frequently go outside, in all types of weather, and use my imagination to come up with any sort of game I could play by myself. Inside, I would watch movies with my family that were rented, or read a book. Sometimes I would paint or draw but as the years went on I found myself doing less of what I previously found entertaining. It may be because I grew up, but I am surer that technology has replaced those types of entertainment. Being by myself is boring to be now and instead of doing something alone, I go on Facebook to see whose online so I can chat with them. I rarely watch movies with my family because most movie rental stores like Rogers and Blockbuster have closed because people such as myself, find it easier to sit on a laptop and download a movie. Furthermore, I sadly don’t read as much because when I have spare time I find myself logging into Tumblr, Twitter, or Pintrest and looking through posts and pictures. Because of all these social networking sites and quick little sips of information, I have become a victim of infobesity. Textbooks I look at at school have much more detail and content that I have to look through rather than the little posts of information I can find on Google. A quick search and BAM, everything I need to know shows up and is absorbed. But when I have to look through a book to find the answers, I find myself skimming rather than really understanding, and quickly giving up on reading because it is just to long and tedious to find what I’m looking for. This is impacting my critical thinking skills, because I no longer have to read and understand when Google can do that for me in one little sentence. It becomes all too tempting to go to enotes and read the summary of a book, rather than reading the book itself. Not saying that Google, enotes and similar websites are a bad thing, because they do have its perks. Important information can be immediately posted and found through Google, and you can expand an understand of a novel of sorts through added information on enotes. Lastly, my cellphone has destroyed my sleeping pattern. The statistic regarding youth spending an average of 7.5 hours or 11.5 a day in front of a screen is absolutely applicable to me. I find myself on facebook and my phone into the wee hours of the night. I talk and text until my mind is completely exhausted and then I fall asleep, STILL with my phone charging right next to me, where my teddy bear once used to be.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awww, the cell phone has replaced the teddy bear. That is a poignant image that speaks volumes.

      Your point about the loss of video stores hits a sentimental note with me. I worked at one in high school. It was a little community store where movie buffs and people from the community would come in. We would share, debate, exchange. I loved it. As a beginning teacher I would go to the Rogers at the corner, wander the aisles, ask employees advice. They'd help me find a cool little indie film I had never heard about or make recommendations for films and documentaries to help me round out units I was teaching. I know films are easily accessible online now (as I stream the latest Homeland), but I miss the walking to the store, sharing, debating and interacting with people in the community at my local video store. That community connection is now definitely diminished.

      Delete
  30. 3. I think technology, more than anything else in our lives is greatly impacting our future. Within 20 years I don't see anyone using paper and pen in high schools. Tablets and notebooks will be the norm. Face to face communication is starting to lack because everyone is use to technology. This is really going to affect our future. We will not be able to properly communicate with members of our community. Relationships are also being negatively impacted because of technology. Couples can be intimate over text, but when it comes to real life it is just awkward. Information, bad or good spreads to quickly on the internet. We do not actually realize how lucky, or unlucky we are to have access to information immediately. If we keep having technology advancements at the rate we are now, pretty soon we will have robots with artificial intelligence working for us.

    4.Before we started this unit I was in the middle of the technology scale But as we progressed through this unit I leaned more toward the pessimistic side. We are losing the ability to think on our own, and to concentrate. The fact that games such as Second Life, and America's Army exist and are extremely popular, says a lot about the type of world we live in. Instead of fixing one's real life they go online, and create the perfect world for themselves. Everything is becoming very easy to do, and this is going to be horrible for society. People are not only become lazy physically, but mentally too. Some people have lost and will continue to lose the ability to think on there own. What will our kids do in the future? How much time o average are they going to spend online?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Interesting that you feel information is spread too quickly. Normally information and efficiency is an asset. What pitfalls do you notice with this? Do you think that we'll become sedated? reactive? Can we truly thoughtfully process all that we are exposed to at the rapid rate it is shared with us?

      I agree with your comment that we become lazy, not just physically, but mentally. I think that time management suffers, and therefore the quality of work, thought, contributions we make are more rushed and lazier. Also, I will fight for paper and pens. Even if I am the mean old-school teacher. I think the problems with tablets and pure computer creations is that individuals lose their ability to think and communicate without spell-check, online thesaurus, etc. We have to ensure that our brains are the real machine and computers are merely a helpful tool.

      Delete
  31. 1) Considering we are only awake for approximately 16 hours a day, the fact that almost half of that time is dedicated toward technology came as a surprise to me. Although I am using technology constantly, it did not occur to me to estimate the amount of time I was spending on it. “Technology and Us” shows statistics that youth spend around 7.5 hours a day on technology alone and up to 11.5 hours because of multitasking. These stats imply that we are not using our own brains enough to think for ourselves and relying on other resources for our needs. Although I knew the overuse of technology was a concern, I did not consider the lack of focus that comes along with this. “Technology and Us” also states our attention span is drastically decreasing as well as the risks of increasing anxiety disorders or insomnia. I was shocked to hear the results of what technology can do to our bodies. Furthermore, although technology comes with its benefits, statistics have proven it has its unaware flaws.
    2) Technology has been shaping and changing our world in many positive and negative ways. Growing up, technology did not play as big of a role in our lives as it does now. As a kid I was able to find joy out of spending an hour on the computer or playing a game on my parent’s cell phone. However, nowadays it is a must to have my cell phone with me at all times and to be connected to all the different social media sites. Also, like “Technology and Us” indicated, I have felt anxiety when not being able to check my phone for lengthy periods of time. In addition to this, Privacy Identify Information is something individuals constantly feel anxious about. Although there are several ways to privatize an account, there can be a nonstop worry about somebody posting information about you. Furthermore, my sleep cycle has been heavily impacted in a negative way with technology. The urge to send that one last text always turns into more texts than you anticipate. An example where technology has impacted me in a negative way is when I depend on it as my only means of communication. One time I was asked to mail a letter and I simply did not know how because I have only sent information via email. Overall technology has helped me in many ways but it has taken away some of life’s essential learning aspects.
    3) Technology is changing our future by making ourselves less social in person. Although we are able to hold conversations in person, when it comes to speaking in a public atmosphere, people generally freeze. However, we are learning a lot more than we normally would through the advances of technology. With internet access on the majority of our portable devices students are able to update themselves with information instantly. However, we may not always use technology in a positive way; and like “Technology and Us” points out it can lead to superficial reading. Relationships are becoming less intimate but they also allow interactions with people all around the world. Children are not developing the necessary communication skills they need but if they have their own way to contact each other I don’t think there will be a problem. There is no right or wrong way when it comes to communicating with people.
    4) 4) When it comes to technology I am neither a pessimist nor optimist. Personally, I believe with the advances of technology the lives of humans will be made easier. Medicine has had many advances which have helped individuals fight off diseases and survive. Information is easily accessible and we do not have to waste our time looking for it. With that said, sometimes we often spend more time on the internet socializing and learning about other people’s lives then learning new facts. However, if we all began to rely on technology who will be in charge of making these devices?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your extraction of information from the mini-unit is comprehensively attested to. I especially appreciate your point about the next generation. Many of you have spoken of the shifts you've noticed in yourselves already, so it's interesting, and a little terrifying to think of the changes we can expect in the next generation of children (and those after that, etc.) that are born into and entirely immersed in a technology saturated existence.

      Delete
  32. 3)Technology is changing our future for the better, or worse depending on how deep one goes into the world of it. Nobody said that our world was never meant to have ipads and facebook. Going against advancements in technology and replacing books with ebooks is living in the past. People need to understand that making changes and taking a step towards a different kind of future can and is a good thing. In the Ted Talks video, it is mentioned that one school experimentally switched their textbooks and papers to ipads and laptops. Such advancements as these will save massive amount of paper and it will be much easier and cheaper for schools to buy updated textbooks with current information. Many people send e-mails to their employees and employers but instead of using a computer, they can have access to e-mails anywhere on their mobile devices. This does make their jobs so much easier because information is passed quickly and efficiently so things get done faster than before. The most important technological advances that I am looking forward to are the ones regarding more efficient ways of communication. Rather than sending and receiving letters, it is much more comforting to see your dear ones face in real time. Skype allows you to do that, and it is an amazing way for people to feel more connected with those that aren’t near them at the moment. It makes moving away and travelling easier if a person is insecure about being alone, because they can always stay connected. People can become dependent on technology for communication and that is unhealthy because real life emotions are lost. I have experience in this situation having friends that I only talked to online and completely ignored in school. People just need to understand that some parts of life aren’t meant to become easier, such as getting your feelings across. Once this understanding is developed within everyone, there won’t be problems with addiction or too much dependence.
    4)I am in between Technology has proven so very useful with its numerous contributions to advancements in medicine and health care. It has created many different ways of communication and connection. Technology has also helped to discover different species of everything and different little machines to make tedious tasks easier and fun. It has opened many eyes to numerous new ways of looking at and doing anything. It is also the road to our brains very destruction. If not carefully used, technology can take over everything we do. Our physical performances will be replaced by robots designed to do tasks that can eventually seem like to much work. I completely agree with Harsh with all he said about technology being a bad thing and couldn’t have given any better examples. I feel that the creators behind these new inventions will either need to advertise to the public not to let them completely take over their lives or create a limit to how much of our physical actions will be taken over by machines. Little things like phones prove to be useful but larger scale machines like something that might take over the job of a human in a factory can damage the economy if people begin to get laid off. Furthermore, people need to realise that technology can be broken. It can fail without power, and it can fail if constructed wrong. The one thing that we can always rely on is our minds. We have control over our thoughts but we do not have control over machines. Who knows, maybe there could be a robot apocalypse if humanity isn’t careful. Technology is an amazing thing, ONCE IT IS LIMITED.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Replies
    1. I can't! I'm still watching all the Youtube videos I've yet to watch and going through the Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook and Pintrest posts I've missed.
      Yippee

      Delete
  34. (1) I was literally surprised when I first heard of Second Life and Datamining. I did not even know something like Second Life existed where users have to pay continuously to participate. It was horrendous to think that people spend their well earned money to live a second virtual life which is basically pointless. It is beyond my understanding how millions of people literally want to live a second life, instead of improving their actual one. Some of the reasons why they continue to play is to boost self-confidence or comfort level. At the beginning of the discussion in class, I failed to realize that people spend real money from their real bank accounts on fake people that will never come to life. The idea of data mining completely creeped me out. It gives me the feeling of a call center that randomly knows my number and keeps calling me continuously asking for the same things. Now, I pay way more attention to the video links that keep reappearing on my youtube. I usually get advertisements about health and fitness or vacation sites since I am looking for places to visit in summer. Obviously, now the advertisements makes more sense. The last fact that was pretty bizarre was using video games to recruit U.S. army. It is a very smart way of giving army positions because it is working. It should not be a problem as long as they are given a choice.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree with your shock at the "Second Life" impact. It's scary to think that people will create a better them in Avatar, and devote endless hours and dollars rather than doing the work in their own lives. Rather than creating a fitter avatar they could go outside, go to a gym, join a running club and positively impact their real body instead of a virtual one. They create themselves in pixels and gigabytes and neglect their own self and life that is whittling away in front of a computer screen.

      Delete
  35. (2) My family is scattered all around the world and thanks to technology I can keep up with my cousins lives. In my case it has definitely brought loved ones closer. However, at school I have seen people act way differently from when they act online. For instance, in “Social Network”, Mark Zuckerberg posted in his blog how much he hated his “ex-girlfriend” after the break up yet he could not say it on her face. This shows that it is so much easier to converse online or through texts rather than having to face so much pressure and risking reputation among peers. We text each other intimate things that are personal and often hard to say face to face. Due to this an artificial closeness is felt. Over Excessive use of technology for communication can snatch the ability to carry on a conversation. My sleep patterns are ruined. Take for example the time I posted this. Everyone sleeps at this time but I sleep in 2 shifts of 4 hours. I have also noticed when I was younger I would sleep in any amount of free time I was given. Now, I use that time to go online and completely waste my time. This has impacted thinking critically. I can no longer read a poem and immediately figure out the theme. This is due to the fact that I don’t think by myself. Now I have my evil friend that on a click of a button tells me the right answer. As Harsh and Leonard mentioned the use of sparknotes to understand Shakespeare, I have done the same. Therefore, I am not letting my own brain cells work which leads to losing those cells that help me to remember etc. I have also noticed anxiety issues. Sometimes, I can feel the vibration of my phone even when there is no call or message. It looks like my phone notions have been grinned in my brain. Others hate it when someone does not reply back to their texts fast enough.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The internet, such as Sparksnotes, is a valuable and useful tool (especially with the layers and layers woven into every line of Shakespeare). It's great to use these tools. In the past one would have to go to their local library, look up in the call numbers a relevant book or article, pull it off the shelves and then read it for assistance in learning. The digital versions of these are not necessarily our enemies, but complacency definitely is. We must ensure that we don't allow Google or Sparksnotes to be the final say, but rather a starting point for our own very capable synaptic connections, critical, creative juices and thoughtful development of understanding.

      Delete
  36. (3) Technology is isolating us. Humans want everyone to listen and do as it says. Technology does that perfectly. No demands, no compromises are required. It gives us a voice as discussed in class powerpoints. “People have more of a voice and presence. The few communicating with the many. The many watching the few.” This builds up an egotistical confidence. Therefore, we feel much more safer and comfortable with a screen in front of our faces. I do not see the situation getting any better. Right now, my generation will claim that we won’t let our children ruin their life. Unfortunately, time is moving so fast that we are unable to see today’s kids abusive relationship with technology. With social networking sites like Facebook and especially twitter, privacy holds no meaning. Facebook and Twitter basically own my photos and videos. They can do whatever they want to do with it and I won’t be able to defend myself. I don’t really like this like everyone. Today, we are expected to stay involved and updated with technology however it gets hard to take time for ourselves.

    (4) Despite the cons humanity does need technology. We can not live comfortably without heat, pencils, zippers, paper, shoes, clothes and various little things that we often don’t consider a part of technology. Due to other valid reasons, I am a definite pessimist. I do not have a problem with technology, I have a problem with the way we use it. We give it too much importance. Everyone who says they can’t live without their phone is lying. Yes, you can live without it. They should take this as a challenge and try to go without it for a day. Second Life and other games which cross the line of entertainment are pointless and shouldn’t be given much importance. If we plan on using technology we should learn how it works as well. Technology is ruining excitement and spontaneity in relationships. Even though the value of relationships would not be the norm/priority in future we have to try our hardest to keep the intimacy alive. We need to start balancing our time and importance for technology fast.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You make a very passionate and persuasive testament to our use of technology. You're right, we need to "learn how it works as well" as use it effectively. I agree with you that my concern is not for medicine or transportation, etc., but for human relations. Before facebook we were able to be less public and freer from judgement, or even from the niggling sense of an audience. Perhaps we were less self-aware (which I think is healthier), less narcissistic and more surprised by life, by love, by ideas. I miss that.

      Delete
  37. 1.)Sorry for the late entry Ms. Bertrand! I’ll just jump right into it and say that the info about technology that surprised me the most was the amount of time in a day that I spend in front of a screen. 11.5 hours!! At first I thought it was obscured and completely wrong, but the next day I tracked my time in front of a screen. First thing in the morning I check my phone, then watched Late Night With Jimmy Fallon before going to school. At school some teachers showed power points, some showed notes on the projector or we used the computer lab. All of which were screens! When I got home I did homework on the computer, texted my friends for help watched the news while eating dinner and then finish my day off by watching a repeats of Friends. Before sleeping, I realized that 11.5 hours did not seem wild, to be honest it seemed low. I cannot believe, CAN NOT BELIVE I spent that much time in front of a screen and haven’t realized it till now! In fact I’m in front of a screen right now, and SO ARE YOU. Maybe doing homework is a bad thing…Just Kidding I love ENGLISH!

    2.) I completely agree with Risham for this question, she took the words right out of my mouth! Or should I say the letters right out of my keyboard. But seriously, technology has been the connection with me and my long distance family for ages. But the biggest way that technology has changes my life is when smart phones came out. As a smart phone user myself I can truly say it is like my left hand. This keep track of my schedule, my to do list, my contact, my EVERYTHING! It has significantly changed my relationship with my family in a minor way. Here’s how. When I have an event to go to I put it in my calendar which on my phone. I completely forget about our family calendar in the kitchen, that all event need to go on. I always think I wrote it on there but I actually only put it on my phone. As a result my parent would not know where I am, and I would get an earful when I got home. But, I TRULY, forget. I just think that I write it on there but I actually only put it on my phone. Its CRAZY!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry to contribute to your daily screen time. I had a big internal debate about whether to have your responses posted online or not, but I knew that the conversations would be as rich as they have been and I really wanted to ensure that you all had the opportunity to put it out there, share, not just for me.

      Delete
  38. 3.) They way technology is changing our future amaze me every day. For example, let’s take this assignment. It is so convenient for all of us student. No need to grab a pen and paper, and then some white out for our mistake. I can imagine that it is convenient for you to ms. Bertrand. Not having to take loads of papers and your marking books home, and then bringing them all back to the school. All you have to do is grab your laptop and your all set. Also since I am taking about how technology is changing our future, these posts are great examples for future students. They won’t have to worry about losing that photocopied sheet of paper, all they need to do is GO ONLINE!

    4.) Technology is growing at a rapid pace and shows no signs of stopping, and I wouldn’t have it any other way! I believe it is good in every single way. Its have come so far in the medical field and has heal some many people. Technology is catching up to older generations and reeling them in. Let’s take my grandpa for example, a couple year ago didn’t know how to turn on the tv, now he is putting my on hold on his cell phone while using his laptop. I loved every second of being on hold. Technology is only going to grow more, so there really is not point in trying to swat it away. You can hang on to those record players and 100 pound TV’s but it is just a matter of time before you switch those in for a ipod and flat scree.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Spoken like a true child of the "techno revolution." I laud your optimism and passion for it. True, it enriches and enables our lives in ways we don't even fully realize or appreciate. A little dash of caution and critical awareness never hurt though, as with everything.

      Delete
  39. 1. I had the opportunity to learn in my psychology class actually that technology, being used at a young age, can mess with your brain. There are certain parts of the brain that need to develop when one is still a child. In those parts it needs social interaction to help the brain grow and these kids are completely missing that! This gives them the ability to not hold a conversation; they simply cannot for the life of them talk face to face. I found that insane and crazy and holy moly it really makes one think about how the future will be. I mean, I thought that if you started on the computer young, it would be almost a good thing. Get those brain muscles moving to learn and acquire new things in the mind! I guess I was wrong and I am still extremely shocked by that fact.

    2. I probably could cover all the suggested topics as to how technology has impacted me, however, I’ll choose the sleep cycle one simply because I am a teenager who barely gets any sleep. So, to kick start this point, I would just like to state that even though my phone sits on my bed when I sleep, sometimes in my hand, I really have no social life and therefore barely ever get texts. That’s the reality of my texting life. Although, I can’t help but check my Facebook, Tumblr, the weather, look up stuff on Google, look up a word in the dictionary, all that. That is what is being done on my phone, so there is one out of three things that keep me awake. The second one would be my iPod. I listen to music when I go to sleep. I haven’t always done this though. Before I started to, I could remember my dreams in full detail, word for word of what happened I could write a book and draw a picture of what my dreams were. Ever since I started listening to music, I am lucky if I remember a quarter of my dreams, still in full detail, but the abundance is lacking. This makes me sad because I always admired myself for the dreams I could always remember. So music keeps me up, also the games on my iPod and recently, Netflix. I have the App on my iPod and all I do is watch movies. Heck, I’m such a rebel that I will watch two movies, AND, on a school night. There’s the second reason why sleep is a distant friend to me. The third and final reason is books. Oh my lord, books. It is a technology that I greatly admire and appreciate and sometimes I cannot help but read that last one hundred pages even though it’s already ten o’clock and I have to be up at six. It’s a horrible addiction, but I really can’t help myself. That is how technology has impacted my life.

    3. In some aspects, I believe that technology is bettering our future. Such as making jobs simpler, finding new medicines and cures. I also feel the same about learning as well. You can learn whatever your heart desires from what the teacher is saying, or what you have read in an article online. It all intermingles with each other and it just seems to work. Of course the ideal thing here would be that everyone in the school get a personal laptop or iPad or something of the sort. But then again, if that were to happen, I reckon we wouldn't really need teachers. But then if we keep creating to make everything better, soon enough our cashiers at the local grocery store will be robots... What will happen to all the people?! I take that back then. If we can manage to increase the quality of work with technology but not be replaced by robots, everything would be hunky-dory for me.

    4. I am an 80% optimist for sure! I appreciate where technology is going and what it could possibly do for us in the future, no doubt about that. But I personally do fear for the human mind. Like I said before about small kids who have missed their opportunity to develop certain brain functions is scary. But I always am looking forward to what technology has got in store for us today! Whether it is a new iPad or something insane or a cure for cancer. That is what I am waiting for.

    ReplyDelete
  40. There's a lot that our brains can gain from exposure to technology, but the priority is definitely to afford all the capacity for all aspects of their brain, not the over-development of one area and the depletion of another. I particularly appreciate your comment about the impact on dreams. It's fascinating and a little sad. Nonetheless, your optimism is well-founded.

    p.s. Since your passion is singing through in your word choice and expression, ease up on the slang and exclamation points. They hinder rather than help your effective communication.

    ReplyDelete
  41. 1. Something that really surprised me about technology was that in japan there actually treating as a disorder/addiction/disease. I really dont believe that it is and by taking these people away from technology isnt going to solve anything because technology is all around them. In this day and time its hard to live without, for example now even in jobs using a computer is neccasary. So if these people were somehow exposed to technology again would they get addicted again or are they just supposed to lead lives completely without any technology.

    2. A part of my life that has been directly impacted by technology would have to be intimacy with my friends and the people i know. I personally dont use a lot of technology to talk to my friends on a daily basis. I actually havent had a phone in 3 months now and ive been perfectly fine. But because of me realizing that i didnt need to text people all the time and that i was still perfectly fine surprised me. It surprised me because everyone is always saying that they would just die without their phones and i used to think the same way until i actually didnt have a phone anymore. As for intimacy with people and my friends, i realized that i did loose contact without a lot of people and some friends ive distanced from because we dont text all the time but i believe that the best relationships with people are the ones where you talk face to face and if your not able to do that then its not really a friendship is it. Other then just texting technology has absolutely taken a toll on my sleep patern, there have been so many nights where i stay up for hours just surfing the internet. Technology has changed my life for sure but i wouldnt say that it was all for the worst, it has had some positive impacts on me.

    3. In what ways do i think technology is changing my future. I think that technology has changed everything already and that its such a evolving thing in life. Everything is online now, when your applying for a job or even when your working. I used to work at future shop and everything we did there was online, there was no paper work at all. It seems like everywhere you go technology has alreadt changed everything i really dont know how much more there is it could possibly change. People are already doing online dating and communicating with everyone online. The only thing i think that will probably change in the future is school. Soon enough they'll probably make it so you dont even have to actually go to school you do it all online. Which is actually already an option for kids who use surrey connect for homeschool but i think instead of that being one of our options soon enough it'll be the only logical option to people.

    4. Personally i think i'd have to be a optimist over all because i think technology is just us evolving and growing and isnt that what were supposed to do? The way people use technology is up to them, if they let it take over there lives that was all there choice. Overall technology has done so much good for the whole world. In seconds were able to find out whats going on across the world and without technology we wouldnt be able to do that. With the internet we can find out anything in a minute, theres so much to learn. People just let technology take over there lives and make it into a bad thing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I appreciate your honest reflection regarding technology's impact on intimacy. Although true friendship, as you note, is about more than perpetual text messages.

      As for the future of online, I agree that schooling is moving that way. I am currently taking two UBC courses online. It is possible and enriching, but to be honest, I miss the lectures, debates, and working/learning with peers in the flesh. There's something missing when we are not connecting "for real."

      Delete
  42. 1) I heard about “Second Life” in the past, but I assumed it was a bit of a joke, or perhaps a quick-to-fade fad. But to learn that it was a commonly used game where people not only recreated new lives, but paid hard earned money to do so? I was flabbergasted to say the least. It saddens me that people have resorted to this. Everyone deserves happiness, as well as responsibilities. “Second Life” takes this away, and replaces it with shallow and temporary satisfaction. As sad as the players of this game make me, it’s the creators that particularly upset me. They know that they’re impeding the development of the human race by stopping people from living and succeeding in their real lives; yet they continue, for their own selfish profit. Things like “Second Life,” and even our Facebook profiles, are deteriorating our self-esteem. We adjust ourselves online to impress others, only to disappoint ourselves in real life. Another aspect that surprises and worries me is our growing inability to read, comprehend, and write. Our vocabularies are diminishing, certainly thanks to the help of online thesauri. As we become accustomed to gathering information in tiny snippets, few bother to read leisurely, and many people are losing their attention spans. We skim articles for bolds and underlines. When we respond and compose, we are unable to use proper English. In addition, we are also losing our creative processes. Imagination is one of the most beautiful human capabilities, and I hope that technology never steals that from us.
    2) Technology has altered my intimacy and privacy. I have greatly improved in terms of intimacy, but it was much worse a few years ago. I remember chatting with this boy online all summer. We hung out only a few times, but for the most part our relationship was electronic. When I worked up the courage to tell him I liked him, surprisingly I managed to do it in person. However, blushing, I looked away and said “Anyways I’ll just talk to you after school.” He pointed out that it was already after school, but I still managed to wriggle away shyly. At home, I realized that I was anxious to talk with computers between us. I had become used to communicating in this way only, and felt extremely uncomfortable otherwise. Fortunately, that was short lived, and I began to develop the ability to be intimate in person. As for privacy, I find myself posting far too much. I truly need to start keeping a journal. Over this unit, I came across the idea that social networking appeals to people because it creates automatic listeners. So, when you are alone, but have a thought (which happens frequently enough), we can post it knowing someone is out there listening. It is a sad replacement for friends and family. This publication of activity, photos, and opinions is, admittedly, often a grasp for attention. We tend to release far more than necessary, in order to impress others. If they really care, you shouldn’t feel the need to brag and go out of your way.
    Haley Kreutz

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You've raised numerous of the key complex challenges that come with our techno-rich existence. "Computer screens between" people for relief from intimacy is becoming more and more common. As an English teacher one of my major areas for concern is the diminishing abilities of independent thought, communication and creativity. These truly are precious aspects of each of ourselves that need to be nourished and grown. Your idea to keep a journal is very inspiring to me. I too used to sketch and write in one every night. It's interesting how technology has increased our voracious appetite for audience. Connectivity is so precious, but so too is our solitude and private self.

      Delete
  43. 3) One concern is that much of the new technologies will begin to replace human jobs with robots. This means high unemployment rates. Despite the short term convenience of technology, job loss is clearly a negative outcome in the long run. Even if it does not steal too many jobs, it does impact our work habits. When we have technologic assistance, we tend to become reliant and apply less focus. I do believe that technology assists in education. With tools like pencils, paper, chalk, counting blocks, computers, calculators, the printing press, and the Internet; communicating ideas has never been easier. Hopefully, the availability of global education continues to expand. Technologies such as telephones, email, and Skype are making communication (especially long distance) infinitely easier. However, this should not replace genuine conversation. Text message junkies are beginning to lose interest and ability to communicate via telephone, never mind in person. True relationships cannot thrive as healthily without real intimacy. One futuristic possibility that scares me is the prospect of developing into the lazy blob-like humans in Wall-E. I truly hope technology does not encourage laziness to the point where we devolve.
    4) Although the exponential developments in technology have their worrisome aspects, I am ultimately towards the optimistic end of the spectrum. Realistically, “technology” itself encompasses infinitely more than just cell phones and the Internet. Medical advancements save countless lives every day. The human life span has nearly doubled in the past century. It optimizes and expedites communication, travel, and learning; which help us develop as a species. While certain electronics have addictive tendencies, it truly is the individual’s responsibility to control their technology use. Electronic communication does have negative possibilities. It allows people to misbehave with much more ease. For example, people can send password protected messages to their adulterer; youth can stay up late texting; and anyone can post inappropriate things with ease. However for the most part, technology has proved fundamental to our growth and advancements.
    Haley Kreutz

    ReplyDelete