There has been an overreaction to the consequences of technology on our society. Many people are concerned with how children are growing up and developing necessary skills while being surrounded by technology. While I think there is room for some concern, overall we do not need to be too worried. I have been a babysitter and nanny to numerous families over the years. For the most part this kids were happy and excited to go and play outside. Many did not spend too much time in front of either the TV or a computer. Also, children can develop all of the social skills that they need while attending school and interacting with other children their age. Technology is also benefiting this children. There are many education resources available on the internet. Many video and computer games are made to help children learn.
Along with the fact that technology is not harming future generations, it is not desensitizing humans. Jason Calcanis claimed through Harris’ law that “At some point, all humanity in an online community is lost, and the goal becomes to inflict as much psychological suffering as possible on another person”(We live in public, 2). This is a very extreme assumption. There is a lot of negativity online but there is also in real life. People were just as mean and harsh before technology made an online community available. If you’re always looking for the negatives in life you’ll find them everywhere. People often forget the many positives of the web. While there was that extreme tragedy of the suicide of Abraham Briggs being prompted by people online, there have been more cases of people creating websites to help those debating about suicide. The internet is a resource that can either be used for good or bad. I believe that the majority of people use it for the good. However, there is more emphasize on those who use it for the bad.
While it is easy to concentrate on the concerns of technology, it is also important to look at the positives. People are now able to connect with old friends and meet new people. It is now easier to express your beliefs. There are numerous educational benefits. The list of positives can go on and on.
I definitely agree that the benefits of the internet are often times overlooked. The reason for this, I feel, is because the ones being vocal and acting up about this debate are the ones who did not grow up with the technologies and capabilities that we as a younger generation have been accustomed to our whole lives. I big reason as to why the older generation has felt it necessary to speak up is because the new technologies like social networking are completely new territory for them and it has both frustrated them and made them scared of where this technology is taking our society. An example of this would be that I’m sure not many of us were too fond of calculus the first time we attempted it, and I doubt many of us fell in love with our babysitter as children the first time we were together. Often times, it takes time to become comfortable with something new (in this case, it is taking a lot of time for adults to become comfortable with social networking, but in my experience more and more adults I know are creating Facebook/Twitter pages).
I also think you should be careful when you argue that the internet isn’t changing/desensitizing the way we act or interact with others. I agree that Calcanis’s claim is very exaggerated (Slippery Slope fallacy if you will), but there is pretty solid support behind the argument that what someone says online is often times not how the same person would say it talking to someone face to face. Online interactions allow us to make a claim and not have to face immediate consequences like you would if you made the claim to someone in person. An example is that someone can post that “soccer is the worst sport ever”, walk away from his computer and continue on with his day before coming back and noticing that 8 people “liked” his post and 7 others (who may not have the guts to say it in person) commented saying he was full of crap. That is much different than that same kid standing up in the middle of the lunch room and saying the same thing, since he will have started an immediate discussion between REAL people aimed right at HIMSELF. I would have to argue that social networking technologies have changed the way we interact, and maybe even desensitized how we act because we are not faced with immediate personal responses for what we say.
Clearly the internet has provided so much good for our education (can you imagine this English class without the internet?) and keeping in touch with close ones, but the negatives are brought up in discussions the most by the older generation still skeptical of all this new interaction. It’s tough to conclude that the kids you babysit for haven’t been negatively impacted by technology, since they haven’t grown up in previous times when the technology wasn’t there. Hopefully one day the panic and shock of the older generation will vanish and the pros and cons of internet technologies will be more fairly represented. Very insightful post! I, too, found myself wondering when we would read about an author coming out and rejecting all of the claims made about the consequences of social networking.
I agree with a lot that you have to say. Like Rick said, the people who are most vocal about how awful technology and social networking sites are for our society are the people who haven’t had as much exposure to it. They are resistant to technology because it is something new and they don’t have all the facts. However, I think it is important to point out that although a critical analysis of the consequences of technology can prove to be helpful, we also need to realize that not everything that occurs because of technology is a consequence. For example, most adults believe that because teens are spending more and more time on social media sites and texting, they lack the ability to communicate face to face. Although, this may be true for some teens, the majority of us value face to face conversations or in person interactions more than virtual communication. If anything, the main reason that we use technology is to talk to people about a previous event or talk about our next interaction. Thus, I think a lot of adults’ concern stems from their misunderstanding of how teens use technology.
As for the claim that technology is desensitizing humans, I do think that this is extreme. However, I would have to agree with Rick that it is sometimes true. I feel like so often people post things that they would never have the guts to say in public. Although this might not be the case for everyone that uses social media sites, I think that the people who do this, do so because they aren’t any immediate repercussions for doing so. Since they are behind a screen, they can’t see how their words affect others and very little can be done to restrict what they say. Thus, they feel like they are entitled to say anything they want without thinking about the consequences. Even though it’s possible that these things could still be said in public, the fact that once something is posted, it is public and can be viewed by so many people, I think makes these posts have an even greater impact. People may forget what you say, but it’s hard to take something back after everyone has seen your post.
Bethany,
I agree that the benefits of the internet are often times overlooked, however I disagree that some of these technologies are enhancing the social skills of children at critical points of development. We see this more when we look at our generation and that of the upcoming generation. I babysit as well but most of the time when I suggest that we go out and play, the kids are too attached to their Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, to leave the couch. In most cases, if you ask your parents, they will tell you about the grand adventures they had in the neighborhood with their friends and cousins, and whoever else happened to be around. They could have been playing with a stick and they would have been happy. Now give that stick to someone in our generation, or a 5 year old on the playground. They probably wouldn’t know what to do with it because they have not developed the creativity to do so. Yes, children interact at school but should that justify them sitting in front of the television for the rest of the night? Because they had such a busy day interacting that they should be given that time to shut down? We see this even more today as our lives are becoming more busy, giving us an excuse to let our children sit like little potatoes on the couch instead of having to supervise them in the backyard. You made the point that there are now interactive games that allow children to learn and make use of the time spent in front of their devices but at the same time, this is enabling them to isolate themselves and postpone the development of crucial social skills. I may be old fashioned, but I believe the best way for children to spend their time is outside in order for them to develop the social and creativity skills that can’t be learned from a device.