Today’s technology comes with a huge price
The Internet is a truly wonderful thing, everything in the entire world is just a click away. But is it turning the human race into mindless drones who have no need for human interaction.
Granted, computers and cell phones have made life so much easier, however this technology comes with a price. Take cyber schooling for example, albeit convenient for parents, children suffer because they are not afforded the opportunity to socialize with other children their own age. Could this not affect their natural development psychologically? In an article written by Milton Gaither he estimated that between 1999 and 2003 the number of home schooled children rose from 850,000 to nearly 1.1 million. That is over one million children who will never experience any type of social diversity in a classroom.
It once took days, even weeks to write a research paper. Now, that very same research paper can be done in just a few hours if the individual writing the paper stays focused on the writing and does not get wrapped up in all the social networking, and other senseless foolishness that is interweaved in the cyber jungle. Back when a student had to do all the hard work that came with writing a good paper, the information stuck with them, and they actually learned something from their efforts. Today, if a student really wanted to, they could find a website that sells that same research paper they need to do, submit it to their professor, and spend the rest of their so-called “study time” watching ridiculous videos on You Tube, and slowly becoming more ignorant than the person who made the video.
Is this what the pioneers of computer technology had in mind when they created this infinitesimal electronic mind in a box? Hopefully not. Surely these great minds had more in store for the unwitting consumer than the angry cat or the latest blog about what celebrity “X” did with rapper “J” at club “Z” the night before the Grammys. It does not seem like learning is important anymore, nor does it seem like people are interested in actually socializing with other people face to face. Employment interviews are even done via Skype. People just do not want to interact with other people anymore unless it is on a screen.
Is this what the human race has come to? Has mankind become so scared of interacting with others outside of the safety of their homes or office cubicles? Years ago co-workers and friends would get together after a hard day at work and hang out together at the local pub or actually go out to dinner together. Now, no one wants to meet with someone else until they have done a thorough background check (done on-line), and then have their would-be acquaintance fill out an on-line questionnaire about their likes, dislikes, and personal habits.
Psychologists have recorded several cases of how social depravation has affected the human mind. In one very extreme example, that of a feral child called Genie. On November 4th 1970 a social worker discovered a 13-year-old girl who had spent her entire childhood tied to a chair in a small room. She had been put there by her father who thought she was retarded and kept her as socially isolated as possible. From the time she was 20 months old until the social worker found her, she stayed locked in that room. When found, she had no language skills whatsoever and could not interact at all with other humans. Subsequently it took years to gain any social skills at all. This is an extreme case, but is it possible that today’s “computer age” might somehow do the same to mankind as we know it?
It is nice to run across a childhood friend on Facebook and reminisce about the good times growing up, and it is extremely convenient to do all your shopping on-line and have your every desire delivered to your front door. It is good for the environment as well. People would not have to drive their cars, therefore less pollution, and fewer accidents. If an individual does not leave their house, the chances of them getting robbed are slim to none, they never have to worry about getting caught in the rain. It is a win-win situation. Plus no one will have to worry about seeing the unwanted sights of everyday life. Life would be a virtual utopia.
Virtual is the key word. None of it is real. That is not the way life is meant to be lived. Humans need real social interaction and they need to feel the presence of another human being. On-line dating may very well be nice, but what about that “love at first sight” relationship where someone just happens to bump into their life partner on the street. Mankind needs to see the wonders of life, and the unpleasantness of it as well. As beings created in the image of a power that is greater than any social network, mankind needs to touch, to feel to experience life, not share their best “selfie” with a million people they may never see in person. Humans were not created to be sheltered, hiding behind a screen, getting all their information from a search engine. Humans need human interaction.
Billy Johnson is a resident of Dunbar.