Technology is not a 'tool' – it actually drives change and creates society.
I am a member of Generation Y. I grew up at the time when desktop computers first made it inside homes, when the Playstation and Gameboy became children's playmates, when cellphones were not only a form of communication but an extension of personal identity, and when Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube fulfilled everyone's desire to be heard. I am a member of the Peter Pan Generation, the generation that has done all it could to delay adulthood. I am a member of the "self-centered" generation, the "impatient" generation, and the generation filled with "short-cuts". The generation that wants respect but does not know how to respect. The generation that always looks for an easy way out. Yes, that generation. At least, this is how we have been described by people from the outside.
What we consider the norm has been blamed on technology. We look for instant gratification because we grew up in a world filled with instants. One minute e-mails instead of week-long posts. Text messages instead of phone calls. Video streaming instead of having to wait for TV shows once a week. Wikipedia and Google have replaced libraries. Distance Education is a popular alternative for school campuses. We can shop while sitting in our rooms and listen to e-books instead of reading our favorite fiction.
People's behaviors have been altered. Mindsets have changed. Perspectives have widened. But was all this a product of technology? Have we truly been creating machines or have machines created us? And if so, has this been for the good or just the opposite?
There are many ways to dissect technology and how it has influenced society. Daniel Chandler in his paper Technological Determinism explored many of these variables. Among his many outlined theories, he included one that expanded on technology as the single independent variable towards the changes in society. Technology has pushed society; creating needs and wants instead of being created to answer them. As a member of Generation Y, a generation so large yet so largely criticized, I wanted to take a step back and understand how our incredibly judged way of living came about and if we should even try to remedy it. Or, better yet, are we even really broken?
It's easy to play the blame game. It's easy to make excuses; to tell the world that this was the world we were left with and we had not chosen to have been born and to grow uduring the time of the fastest technological advancement in human history. Why do it the hard way if the easy way's already been invented? Why work for a company and start from the bottom when I can establish one and start on top? Why ask someone how they're feeling when I can just read a cryptic status message and decode it for myself? Why go through all the trouble when I don't have to?
And this, I believe, is the new society. A society whose reasoning has been made logical by the convenience brought about by technology. A society that cannot be faulted for choosing what makes sense over what wastes seconds. A society whose needs no longer included patience for patience is for the lazy. A society that no longer needs simplicity for simplicity is for those who do not work hard enough to have more. A society that no longer needs society for society is for those who are not strong enough to be independent. We are not a broken generation. We simply have thrown away what older generations thought they needed to survive and replaced them with the needs our generation today faces.
Well, you know what? I disagree.
Although technology has re-shaped our concept of what is logical versus what is illogical, I don't believe it has affected our ability to differentiate what is rational from that which is not. And this is why I would like to argue that, although technology can push changes in culture, it is, inevitably, our choice to be pushed or dance hand-in-hand with technology.
But have we been broken by technology? Do we need to be fixed? Are we not functioning properly? Are we not moving forward? Has the world turned chaotic?
Maybe, just maybe, it's not that we're broken or that we have lost values that our generation never even had to begin with. Maybe, just as world wars have shaped our grandparents and made them stronger and more resilient, technology can do the same for us. Maybe if older generations just stopped criticizing us and looking at us as if we can't stand on our own without our iPhones and Facebook accounts, then they'll see that we're not broken; we're just in the middle of adding new modifications to build a stronger and more progressive society but without a blueprint in hand.
We are "impatient". We want things fast because technology has made it possible to have things fast. That's all well and good. There's nothing wrong with fast. The work is done. The work is good. No mistakes. And this is where I believe the human in us should come in. Technology has helped us do something. Now, let the person in us thinkof what we have done. You are happy with the work. Are we happy with ourselves? Do we need to do more things 'fast' to become happy with ourselves? We have twenty minutes to spare, should we call up mom or dad and ask them if something funny happened to them today? We've answered all the e-mails in our inbox. There's an hour left before work ends. We tap our fingers on our desk. We need more stimuli. We are bored. We wish we had our own company already so that we don't have to sit down in front of a computer all day like we did today. Do we pick up a piece of paper and start writing down the first draft of our business plan?
The way we are, how we think, or how we process information has been re-shaped by technology. But if we put our hands up and say, "This is us, take it or leave it" then we only have ourselves to blame. We are Generation Y. We are the "impatient" generation. We are the generation that looks for "short-cuts". We get bored. We think of ourselves a lot. We didn't choose to have been born during the time of the fastest technological advancement in human history. Yes, technology has something to do with it. Something. Not everything.
Technology helps us do something. But the human in us is responsible to think about what we've done. I am a member of Generation Y and, I know, the world shouldn't be afraid that this generation is next in line to take over this technological world.
I am a member of Generation Y. I grew up at the time when desktop computers first made it inside homes, when the Playstation and Gameboy became children's playmates, when cellphones were not only a form of communication but an extension of personal identity, and when Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube fulfilled everyone's desire to be heard. I am a member of the Peter Pan Generation, the generation that has done all it could to delay adulthood. I am a member of the "self-centered" generation, the "impatient" generation, and the generation filled with "short-cuts". The generation that wants respect but does not know how to respect. The generation that always looks for an easy way out. Yes, that generation. At least, this is how we have been described by people from the outside.
What we consider the norm has been blamed on technology. We look for instant gratification because we grew up in a world filled with instants. One minute e-mails instead of week-long posts. Text messages instead of phone calls. Video streaming instead of having to wait for TV shows once a week. Wikipedia and Google have replaced libraries. Distance Education is a popular alternative for school campuses. We can shop while sitting in our rooms and listen to e-books instead of reading our favorite fiction.
People's behaviors have been altered. Mindsets have changed. Perspectives have widened. But was all this a product of technology? Have we truly been creating machines or have machines created us? And if so, has this been for the good or just the opposite?
There are many ways to dissect technology and how it has influenced society. Daniel Chandler in his paper Technological Determinism explored many of these variables. Among his many outlined theories, he included one that expanded on technology as the single independent variable towards the changes in society. Technology has pushed society; creating needs and wants instead of being created to answer them. As a member of Generation Y, a generation so large yet so largely criticized, I wanted to take a step back and understand how our incredibly judged way of living came about and if we should even try to remedy it. Or, better yet, are we even really broken?
It's easy to play the blame game. It's easy to make excuses; to tell the world that this was the world we were left with and we had not chosen to have been born and to grow uduring the time of the fastest technological advancement in human history. Why do it the hard way if the easy way's already been invented? Why work for a company and start from the bottom when I can establish one and start on top? Why ask someone how they're feeling when I can just read a cryptic status message and decode it for myself? Why go through all the trouble when I don't have to?
And this, I believe, is the new society. A society whose reasoning has been made logical by the convenience brought about by technology. A society that cannot be faulted for choosing what makes sense over what wastes seconds. A society whose needs no longer included patience for patience is for the lazy. A society that no longer needs simplicity for simplicity is for those who do not work hard enough to have more. A society that no longer needs society for society is for those who are not strong enough to be independent. We are not a broken generation. We simply have thrown away what older generations thought they needed to survive and replaced them with the needs our generation today faces.
Well, you know what? I disagree.
Although technology has re-shaped our concept of what is logical versus what is illogical, I don't believe it has affected our ability to differentiate what is rational from that which is not. And this is why I would like to argue that, although technology can push changes in culture, it is, inevitably, our choice to be pushed or dance hand-in-hand with technology.
But have we been broken by technology? Do we need to be fixed? Are we not functioning properly? Are we not moving forward? Has the world turned chaotic?
Maybe, just maybe, it's not that we're broken or that we have lost values that our generation never even had to begin with. Maybe, just as world wars have shaped our grandparents and made them stronger and more resilient, technology can do the same for us. Maybe if older generations just stopped criticizing us and looking at us as if we can't stand on our own without our iPhones and Facebook accounts, then they'll see that we're not broken; we're just in the middle of adding new modifications to build a stronger and more progressive society but without a blueprint in hand.
We are "impatient". We want things fast because technology has made it possible to have things fast. That's all well and good. There's nothing wrong with fast. The work is done. The work is good. No mistakes. And this is where I believe the human in us should come in. Technology has helped us do something. Now, let the person in us thinkof what we have done. You are happy with the work. Are we happy with ourselves? Do we need to do more things 'fast' to become happy with ourselves? We have twenty minutes to spare, should we call up mom or dad and ask them if something funny happened to them today? We've answered all the e-mails in our inbox. There's an hour left before work ends. We tap our fingers on our desk. We need more stimuli. We are bored. We wish we had our own company already so that we don't have to sit down in front of a computer all day like we did today. Do we pick up a piece of paper and start writing down the first draft of our business plan?
The way we are, how we think, or how we process information has been re-shaped by technology. But if we put our hands up and say, "This is us, take it or leave it" then we only have ourselves to blame. We are Generation Y. We are the "impatient" generation. We are the generation that looks for "short-cuts". We get bored. We think of ourselves a lot. We didn't choose to have been born during the time of the fastest technological advancement in human history. Yes, technology has something to do with it. Something. Not everything.
Technology helps us do something. But the human in us is responsible to think about what we've done. I am a member of Generation Y and, I know, the world shouldn't be afraid that this generation is next in line to take over this technological world.
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