Drafty Draft

Technology, today, is at a stage of advancement the likes of which humans have never seen. We have screens that can be activated by the touch of a finger and we can send text messages into the ether and to our friends in a matter of seconds. But, is this technology moving faster than we are? Can we expect to find stability in our own lifestyles as technology continues to shake it up? Though technology is making our lives easier, I would say that there is a chance that we may be worse off for it.  

People have smart phones, but I don't think it makes them smarter. With the advent of social media and the ability to have any piece of information on a screen in an instant, I find it ironic that people have lost the ability to speak properly or type properly. Now, let me be clear, I have a smart phone too. So, I don't want you thinking that I'm raining judgment down on anyone from so twisted sense of a moral high ground. No. I have a smartphone. It has both a Facebook and a Twitter app. I do the whole social media thing, so I am a victim of this too. I just think it's a sad irony that a society that spends a huge amount of its time typing or reading things, will use abbreviated terms outside of the realm of the text message. I have heard people say "Lol", either pronouncing it a word or spelling it. But they don't this ironically, they mean to "laugh out loud" but instead find it easier to just say "lol". Hell, I say it. But, I am using it as a joke.

          But what affect does this have on people? So what that people use texting language in their own speech? Who cares? Well, I do. Texting originally was plagued with a character limit and therefore required abbreviation to make room for other characters. But now technology has moved further and we can now send full paragraphs of text to someone from a device that fits in our pockets. So it boggles my mind why we still write "u" when we mean to write "you" or that most people either don't know the difference between "your" and you're" ( some will avoid getting wrong by getting both wrong and writing "yur", which is then context sensitive.). Character limitations may not solely be the one to blame. No. The fast paced lifestyle that we face today has some part to play. I'll admit that I find it faster to type "u" instead of "you". But because we are typing a message with the aim of getting out there as fast as possible not only do we limit our spelling ability, but we hinder our vocabularies as well. It is far easier to type "this blog sucks" than to type "I am not amused by the opinions put forth by this blog". I know no one really talks like the latter and is modern technology to blame? Maybe. I'm just saying that maybe we should be more sophisticated in our text messaging because it's not enough to just say what you want quickly but it is just as important to use the right words, regardless of how long it takes to type.

            Sherry Turkle proposes that young people growing up in today's modern society are "tethered" to their phones and have a desire to be constantly connected with each other. She interviewed many young people, mostly high schoolers, and found that many of them feel a desire to be contacted or "interrupted" because they know that it is someone reaching out to them in some regard. She claims that "these young people live in a state of waiting for connection. And they are willing to take risks, to put themselves on the line". She believes that this desire stems from our feelings of loneliness. She claims that with this technology, many young people feel also have a desire for instant gratification. In an interview with a sixteen year old student, the student claimed that she would text/ email/ post about a certain event the moment it happens and, moreover, expects an immediate response. This student wants to be validated in her feelings and that she expects a response from those she tells. Sherry states that the "validation of a feeling becomes part of establishing it, even part of it" and that "technology, on its own, does not cause this new way of relating to our emotions and other people. But it does make it easy".

     Though her findings are valid and her conclusions are logical, I only agree with most of Sherry's argument. I agree that young people today, if not anybody wired into modern technology, do seek more instant gratification and can be considered less patient. Do I think that the concern for validation can limit the effectiveness of how we express ourselves? Sure. However, I don't agree that the situation is as bad as it seems. Yes, people rely more on their phones than ever, but if we think about how much a phone can do for us in this day and age, we can see that a greater reliance on technology, especially social technologies, is to be expected. The fact that it can be considered easier to reach another person through the power of modern technology shouldn't be looked at as some strange phenomenon. I also think that the desire for instant gratification isn't new either. I believe that speaks more to the human condition. If we look at early humans, if they waited for anything either they would die of starvation or get killed but something that was hungry. The desire to make life easier in any way possible is just a natural ambition for human beings. We want to do things faster and cheaper and more efficiently. I don't think technology is all to blame.