On Humans and Technology

As I sit here and write this entry, I find myself bored after having just handed my Macbook over to the computer store for a trackpad repair. Using a school-owned computer to check my Facebook and blog is a colossal pain in the ass, given that my Mac already knows my browsing habits intimately and makes accessing this information much easier than a generic PC. The whole ordeal, however, got me thinking about how truly reliant people are on technology to function in society in the modern day. Not a day goes by that we don't check our Facebooks or Twitters or text our friends/family on our mobile phones. Over two thousand years ago, when Rome ruled the mediterranean and most of the civilizations of the world were at a much more primitive level of development, the thought of communicating from one side of the empire to the other was not something easily conceived. In the modern day, on the other hand, people routinely keep in touch with family and friends half a world away. I myself know people who live or have lived in Japan, Korea, and the United States, and yet have kept in touch with them as easily as I do with people in my physical real life. The "linked in" state of our modern society is undeniable, but a question many have asked is whether or not this is a good thing. Frankly, I think it is.

There are many people of the older generation who think that the internet obsession experienced by our modern generation is dangerous and anti-social, but to anyone in the know this really is the farthest thing from the truth. In reality, the internet has allowed a greater amount of socialization between people than ever before in human history. We have access to information and ideas more easily than ever before, and communication is quick and painless no matter where one lives in the world, provided there's a stable enough connection to the internet in the area. Most importantly, the internet has proven to be the last bastion of freedom of speech in our modern world, and has done more to further this cause than any social activist group. People on the internet share their opinions freely whether for good or for ill, feeling safe behind their veils of anonymity.

Granted, there are dangers inherent to technology...a fact which can be seen in my own situation. I'm separated from my laptop for even four hours, and I feel bored out of my mind. We really are so connected to technology that we cannot fathom a life apart from it. Rather than look at this negatively, however, I choose the opposite view. A laptop or any computer is not an enemy but rather a trusted friend who stands by you during the most painful work, helps you communicate with distant acquaintances, and is a trusted ally of a thousand online Counter-Strike battles. As strange as it sounds, like with most things, the more people use their technology, the more they come to personify it, and this in itself shows the close connection between people and their tech in the modern world.

In the end, whether you like it or not, computers and information technology has become an essential element of our modern existence. We all use the internet-whether for work, school, fun, or communication, and so we all understand its power. Are we over-reliant on it? Definitely, but then again it really has leveled the playing field and given even the average joe a voice to be heard (some might say my blog fits this bill). With the internet, everyone can be heard, and everyone can succeed...it truly is the land of e-opportunity.