Blog Post #5

Research Essay Idea

Has technology set out what it originally intended to do? It was originally intended to make our lives simpler. Technology was meant to free up our lives to not do the mundane, survival tasks. Years ago we lived merely to survive. We had to make or kill our own food, build our own shelter, and do things that would allow us to live until tomorrow. Technology was supposed to revolutionize the way we live, and I want to explore if what we set out to do many years ago with technology, we have achieved.

I think we have achieved in the USA making our lives unconcerned with where our next meal is coming from because someone does that for us. On the agricultural front, I believe we have succeeded in technology. I think as far as the internet goes we have succeeded in making unlimited knowledge at the tips of our fingers available. I think we have succeeded in technology, for we send machinery in the sky and wheels on roads to get us to wherever we want to go. We have radically changed the opportunities we now have because of technology.

As a counterargument, I would like to bring up the dependency we now have on it. We cannot “live” without a smart phone, computer, or car. Our lives revolve around the things we have created. The intended purpose was to free up our lives not to bring us back to more distractions that are technology.

Blog Post #4

Technology has revolutionized the world we live in today. It has made minuscule tasks such as finding out the weather to tasks like moving our very beings from one place to another. Technology has made our lives the easiest they have ever been. We have technology that made simple, day-to-day tasks nonexistent. We have every opportunity to do the things we love and chase after our dreams because we no longer have to do the things we once did. There is no more farming to live, killing our own cattle, and retrieving our own water because something has already done that for us. Unlimited amounts of information is at the tips of your fingers, and you have the opportunity to seize it at any moment. Unfortunately, there are not just positives to technology.

Technology was supposed to free us up to do people things like interact. Technology was supposed to allow us to move past the mundane and into marvelous, but now the very thing that was supposed to set us free has us in chains. Instead of allowing us to be people, technology has sucked us into a virtual world that seems better than our own. We are losing human connection and interaction. Nowadays, there is less eye contact with a human and more of a screen. Technology was supposed to let me follow my dreams and not be tied up by the monotonous daily activities; however, it takes up the time it was supposed to free.

Blog Post #2

Summary of “Connected, but alone.”

Sherry Turkle tackles the topic of technology and people in her Ted Talk “Connected, but alone.” Sherry says in her introductory statements she is a “central paradox.” She stood on the same Ted talk stage years ago claiming the profound and magnificent effects technology would have on humans and their relationships, but this talk was about her new take on technology. In her talk she speaks of the new direction technology is taking humans. It is taking us to a place where we can perfectly control and edit who we are to present to people with whom we want to connect, but rather, we are presenting only the best part of ourselves. We want so badly to not be lonely and to find solace in other people, but Sherry says, “We expect more from technology and less from each other.” She talks of how we are social in nature, and we have a need to heard and never be alone, yet somehow we believe we can also edit our lives in a way that filters out any unwanted conversation or content. Ultimately, Sherry Turkle is not against technology, but she believes we are relying on it to do our jobs; therefore, she says let us let “technology … lead us back to ourselves.” 

Blog Post #1

Research Can be Fun

Research means stepping outside of your own head to join the exciting world of outside knowledge. Research can be the most exciting or dreadful part of an essay. When I think of the word research, my experience in high school with our big research essays come to mind. Research is note cards, organization, and endless amounts of sources.

In high school, we had to do at least one large research paper a year. I remember those times being extremely stressed or proud because I either put in the work necessary to make write a well-crafted essay or I blew it off until the last minute and had to work my butt off to finish it. My favorite part was always do research because it was exciting to get to learn about things I am interested in. It was exciting to have free reign on what I studied and wrote about.

My experience with research is always something I look forward to. I look forward to being a student to these strangers who know significantly more than I do in fields of study I am interested in. I am excited to be humbled by these people’s work. I am dreading the length as most of us are because sometimes I feel like I insert a lot of filler due to length. It is going to be difficult to be challenged to write all things to be grade “A” quality.