Our Society's Love for Technology

      Both the novel Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, and the poem, “Your New Child,” by Austin M., portray the idea that humans are more connected to technology than they are to one another. The novel is set in a world where people spend more time with technology then each other. Likewise, the poem is about a man who pays more attention to his phone then his own son. Many would agree, spending too much time using technology takes you away from building strong relationships with the people surrounding you. The fact that technology consumes our attention, distracts us from the world around us and makes us addicted, brings forth the idea that technology is making individuals detached from society. Most people spend multiple hours a day using technology instead of spending time with other people. In his poem, Austin M. writes, “Giving more attention, to the new son, by his side,” after declaring that his father treats his phone better than him. In other words, Austin is stating that his father gives more attention to his phone than Austin. This is important as it confirms the idea that people are often more engrossed with technology than other humans and therefore, are isolated from each other. In addition to consuming our attention, technology distracts us from the real world. In the novel, Mrs. Bowles remarks, “You heave them into the parlor and turn the switch,” while explaining how to handle children. Basically, Mrs. Bowles is implying that if you put a child in front of a television and turn it on, the child will be captivated. This is significant as it proves that technology can easily distract people and keep them from interacting with other humans. Furthermore, many people become addicted to technology. Some individuals believe they need technology to survive. In the novel, Guy Montag states, “Every night the waves came in and bore her off on their great tides of sound, floating her, wide-eyed, toward morning,” while discussing his wife’s sleeping habits. Guy is insisting that there is not a single night where his wife does not have her ear buds in her ears, helping her fall asleep. This is relevant as it shows how people can become addicted to technology and isolate themselves from others. In brief, technology is making us isolated from society by consuming our attention, distracting us from our surroundings and turning us into addicts. Although it might be tough, we should lessen our use of technology in order to preserve our relationships with other human beings.

Poem - allpoetry.com

The Impact of Technology on our Society

      The topic of technology and its impact on society is discussed in both the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and the article “Technology was supposed to connect us. But we're more disconnected than ever” by Rogette Harris. The novel is set in a future, where books are banned and technology is everywhere. It follows the life of Guy Montag as he questions the ban on books and the affect technology has on the people around him. Similarly, the article examines the influence technology has on society today. Although it can help make our lives easier, the advancement of technology has a negative impact on many people around the world. Due to the fact that technology weakens our communication skills, consumes our attention for large periods of time and makes many things impersonal, we are becoming disconnected from one another. Because of technology, people are able to communicate without having to speak to each other. In the article, Harris writes, "Why can't we pick up the phone and talk to someone rather than send hundreds or thousands of texts a month?" while discussing the use of technology by humans today. Basically, Harris is questioning why humans choose to communicate with each other by writing messages on little devices, instead of verbally communicating. Although this may seem insignificant, it is important because it criticizes people’s choice of communicating in a way that will worsen their ability to verbally speak to others. In addition to establishing different forms of communication, technology can easily consume a person’s attention. On a daily basis, people spend continuous hours using technology. In the novel, Guy's wife, Mildred, spends all day sitting in her living room, watching television. She watches it so often that when Guy asks her, "Will you turn the parlor off?" she denies by stating, "That's my family." In other words, Mildred spends so much time watching television that she feels as if she personally knows the characters. This is important as it confirms that people spend hours a day using technology and because of it, are more devoted to a screen than they are to other human beings. Furthermore, technology has made things that were once special, into things that are impersonal. In her article, Rogette Harris states, “Even applying to jobs is impersonal now. Most companies have automatic answering machines, and rather than walk a resume into an HR office, and actually speak to someone, we now email everything.” In making this comment, Harris is reaffirming that the use of technology has made many tasks impersonal by giving the example of applying to a job. The fact that tasks are becoming less personal due to technology is significant as it shows that human interaction is reducing. Ultimately, technology is making humans disconnected by weakening our communication skills, absorbing our attention and making tasks impersonal. If we continue to use technology as we do now, society will continue on its downward spiral.

  

Article - Penn Live