Technologies and Society

Technologies and Society

In 21st century, people try to develop more advanced technologies in order to improve and enhance their living standard. Internet and cyberculture are one of the obvious improvements that make our life much easier and quicker. However, are they really helpful or just make our society even worse? In the story Ў°Fast Forward: Technologically Enhanced AggressionЎ± by Deborah Tannen and Ў°Virtuality and Its DiscontentsЎ± by Sherry Turkle, both essays offer a perspective on technologies, specially cyberculture and Internet use, and how are they relate and influence to our society.

Internet use and Cyberculture improve our daily life basis. They make our lives much easier and quicker. Both authors agree on it. Ms. Tannen mentions in her essay, Ў°An advantage of e-mail is its efficiency: The reporter was able to send his ides without taking the time to walk to another floor and talk face to faceЎ­Ў± The invention of e-mail helps people transmitting messages, ideas, reports and even letters much faster than we used to be. Also, no matter how far we are separated from each other, a greeting from one person to another will be delivered with five minutes. ItЎЇs a smart way to save our time and energy. Ms. Turkle on the other hand, she is also saying that a creation of virtual world, like Ў°MUDsЎ± is great, Ў°Within this world, people will find their self-image in which they cannot in the real life.Ў± Ms. Turkle explains that young teenagers and adults often feel stressful and depressible. They are competing and struggling in order to survive in a real society. Reality is too tough for them to handle. Therefore, people create cyberculture. It is a place where young teenagers and adults can find their Ў°self-imageЎ±, create their new life, and relax themselves.

Even though Internet use and cyberculture enhance living life, but there is a doubt. Ms. Tannen doubts that virtual world is none-living and unrealistic, Ў°At first this seemed absurd: How could the actual voice of a person right there be impersonal and the on screen little letter detached from the writer be more personal?Ў± She believes that an actual voice or a hand written letter has more expressions and emotions in it. People take and spend time on their letters, and they also low and raise their voice volume to show the changes of emotions. These are the things that cannot be simply replaced by the quickness of e-mail. Compare to Ms. Turkle, she also doubts about the ability of cyberculture, Ў°to revitalize community.Ў± He mentions that community vitality is based on social interaction among people, but technologies simplified them. People chose to chat and write on-line with family members and strangers rather than face-to-face. They minimize their communication and conversation with other people, and is that a right way to revitalize community?

The answer is probably no. Before the mass production of technologies, people liked to gather and socialize among a group of people. In the story by Ms. Tannen, she mentions the example of TV and radio, Ў°When I was a child, my family got the first television on our block, and the neighborhood children gathered in our dinning room to watch Howdy Doody.Ў± It creates a unified atmosphere. Even though they are just neighborhood, but the way they interacted and socialized with each other has make them become a big happy family. It is been created spontaneously. Same as Ms. Turkle, she uses the example of bars, Ў°Here, no one will know your name, but you can always buy a drink or a souvenir sweatshirt.Ў± It is a sense of harmony. People do not need to know otherЎЇs identity, but they just mingle together peacefully. Common socialization creates Ў°community vitalityЎ±. Whereas one of the invention of technologies- online chatting, people lie and cheat their age, economic background and personal interest. In front of technologies, people lost their sincerity and honesty.

Therefore, it is true that the sudden interruption of advance technologies isolate people. Life starts to change. Ms. Tannen states that, Ў°Radio and television began as sources of information that drew people together physicallyЎ­but now these technologies are exerting a centrifugal force, pulling people apartЎ­Ў± People used to gather together and watching TV and talking to each other just like a big family. It changes when people improve their living standard. The proliferation of technology encourages people to buy more and enjoy more.