Depending on Technology

Gabby Santoliquito

Section 002

Technology is something that unfortunately I believe we have always taken advantage of and will depend on from here on out. Especially for our generation currently, we have grown up with technology to play with, listen to music or watch videos on and communicate with one another. Though as time passes, we are constantly having new devices thrown our way and are always wanting more. Almost every year or two, a new iPhone is released, followed by a competing Samsung device trying to prove that it is better than Apple's newest edition. We're constantly hearing about the most recent television coming out, whether nowadays is 3-dimensional, high definition or LCD. Right now it feels as though we will never be content, and at times, the fact that enough is never enough is scary.

Our dependence on technology affects our everyday lives and we don’t even realize it. In particular, computer mediated communication (CMC) is quickly taking over our social skills. Technological determinism looks at the ways technology is the primary cause of major social transformation at all levels including how we perceive the world, interact socially and is changing the way we learn and study throughout universities and the government. After social media sites came out beginning with Myspace and eventually switching to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. we lost the need to not only have face to face conversations with each other but we also don’t even have to be who we actually say we are if we have some sort of “profile” on the internet.

The different ways that we depend on texting and social media sites is something that when we sit back and look at the issue, complain about or criticize, yet almost all of us, including myself, are guilty of doing the same things every day. We don’t have to go over to our next door neighbors’ houses, knock on the door and ask them to hangout anymore. If we want to hangout out with our friends and ask them if they’re home, we simply shoot them a quick text. Not only have we become accustomed to having conversations via text, we expect an automatic response. When we were growing up, we had to call someone’s house phone, leave a message and wait for them to call us back. There weren’t “read receipts” and we couldn’t call someone 10 times in a row, like we can text. Part of me wishes things were the way they were when we were growing up, yet it’s something I know will obviously never happen again. We depend on apps to give us directions, store our thousands of emails and even remind us of something as simple as when to eat dinner. I can’t remember the last time I used a map, nor felt that I had to.

By hiding behind small phone or computer screens, we’re losing the capability to have actual conversations with people. How can we expect to be prepared for actual interviews and the professional job atmosphere with an older generation when we won’t be able to type out our answers and wait for a response via text or email?