Technology

Final Post; Daniel Dupuy; Section 12

Technology and its effects on humanity

           I want to start my Final blog post by making two simple questions to guide your thinking: Have you ever talked to a family member, or a friend about something extremely important and they are so focused on their cell-phone that they did not listen to you? Have you seen a family or a group of friends "hanging out" all so deeply devoted on their electronic devices that there is little interaction? 

In the last century, numerous advances in technology occurred- the television, cellphones, computers, video games and the internet were introduced. While these gadgets have caused a predominant advance worldwide, it is important to analyze its side effects. There have been numerous studies that have proven the correlation of exposure to technology resulted, in numerous scenarios, in negative or positive outcomes.

Normally, families are the most important environment that shape our attitudes and beliefs. When I was a kid, my parents bought me coloring books and crayons, they encouraged me to play with other kids on the playground and limited my time watching television. However, the use of technology has changed families today; many parents buy their children tablets and laptops and that is viewed as good parenting. 
According to Time magazine's survey, 26% of 2-year-olds and 38% of 4-year-olds use electronic devices for at least an hour. 

Technology has the ability to become the sole object in our lives that we use for every interaction that we have with people. Technology was introduced as a way to bring everyone closer; you can talk to anyone, anywhere in the world very quickly so you would never have to lose touch with anyone. According to a study conducted by Brian Primack, people who reported spending more than two hours a day on social media had twice the odds of perceived social isolation than those who said they spent a half hour per day or less. Statistics say people who visited social media platforms most frequently, 58 visits per week or more, had more than three times the odds of perceived social isolation than those who visited fewer than nine times per week. 

However, without a doubt, technology has become an important factor in education, worldwide. McGraw Hill, a very well recognized learning company conducted a study with 3,300 college students; more than two-thirds of students (70 percent) feel it is at least moderately important to be able to study on mobile electronic devices, and almost a quarter (22 percent) feel it is "extremely important," a significant increase from 2015 (19 percent) and 2014 (13 percent). Seventy-nine percent of the students reported that digital learning technology helped their professors and teaching assistants to be more efficient and effective in teaching classes. This imposes a problem if we attempt reducing the use of electronic devices because it could affect many student's grades. 

Many neuroscientists argue that it is not equally efficient to read something on a digital screen as reading it from a book. Comparing our habits for thousands of years ago, to the dependency of technology, reading a digital screen is not natural. "Reading-brain circuits are shaped and developed by both natural and environmental factors, including the medium in which reading is acquired and developed. Each reading medium advantages certain cognitive processes over others". If all reading is done from digital screens, will this impede the formation of the slower cognitive processes such as critical thinking, personal reflection, imagination, and empathy?

Finally, I would like you to analyze these problems and how they could negatively impact our generation and the future generations. Think about this: there's currently 7.5 billion people in the world, and if some of these parents continue to allow 2 year-olds to use tablets at such young age, in 2050, how many millions of families will raise their kids this way? This will change families, friendships, and human interaction. Technology, without a doubt has positively impacted our lives by allowing us to be more innovative, staying connected and having more opportunities. However, it is not good for our friendships and relationships, our family, our work, our brain development, and, therefore, our lives if it is used excessively. We should not allow technology's effects change our norms, values and interaction. 

Quiz:
What percent of 2 year olds are using electronic devices today?
What percent of college students find Technology to be a very important factor in their education?
If your screen time on social media goes up, you are (more likely/less likely) to experience isolation or depression. 

Discussion questions:
If you had kids, would you let your child have a smart-phone or a tablet before they are 10 years old?
As an MTSU student, how important do you think technology regarding your education?
How would change or approach this problem?


Works used:
https://www.upmc.com/media/news/012219-primack-sidani-posneg
https://www.mheducation.com/news-media/press-releases/college-students-prefer-classes-digital-learning-technology.html
https://time.com/3834978/babies-use-devices/

Posts I commented on:

https://cophilosophy.blogspot.com/2019/12/philosophy-of-social-work.html?showComment=1575660276623#c4066165958777822097

https://cophilosophy.blogspot.com/2019/12/artificial-intelligence-first-draft.html?showComment=1575668235216#c1214998559591182926