What We Can Do To Salvage Our Future

Technology: The Catalyst For American Laziness

          Part Four:

          What We Can Do To Salvage Our Future         

Technology runs our lives and will ruin our future if this continues. How we can avoid this and why we should.

Technology is slowly, but surely taking over our lives. Everything in society is based off technology; everybody has smart phones and iPads. Everywhere you look you can see technology! It has direct, negative effects on our lives. Obesity and poor social skills are two big results from technological overuse. And I don’t think anybody wants to have either of those things. If our society doesn’t make a change together, we are in for a rough future. As a proud member of this country, I personally do not want to see this happen.

            If we continue on our gloomy path to technological self destruction, our world will be a shell of its former self. No longer do we receive joy from the simpler aspects of life, it takes a lot more to please us nowadays. With easy access to technology we don’t treasure the simple joys of life. James Surowiecki in , Technology And Happiness writes that in 2005 a poll was released about how happy people are. The percentage of people that said they were happy was slightly lower than in 1970s. Even though our country has made massive strides with technology, people find themselves less happy. The technological boom is not good for our country and people are slowly withdrawing into their houses and using technology to hide from the world. If we just continue to abuse all of our country’s technology, we could end up in a world where no one interacts with each other. At least not face to face. We will just be absorbed in our own lives and not care about anyone else. As technology gets more and more advanced, we will become emotionless and self-absorbed. We will turn into robots. Not actual, metal robots, but just people without purpose, without feelings.

            It is extremely clear that we need a change. We need to cut back on technology to appreciate our lives and prevent humanity from becoming depressed and empty. If you take a look at a group of people who don’t use technology and are still living on our Earth, it is easy to see some benefits of cutting back on technology. Yes, I am talking about the Amish. Now I am not suggesting we should take it to this extreme, but you can clearly see some benefits of their lifestyle. Suroiwecki also writes that the happiness levels of the Amish are consistently higher than the rest of Americans. They live without the technologies that we take for granted which leads to happier lives.  Albrecht Powell in Amish 101 - Amish Culture, Beliefs & Lifestyle writes that the Amish feel technology weakens the family structure and its bonds. They live in a close knit community and have very close and personal relationships with each other. I think that we will make huge strides within our society if we cut down our use of technology. Relationships will be much stronger because we won’t be so focused on technology and actually have real conversations with others.

            If technology continues to run our lives like it does today, soon it will completely take over. Job opportunities will decrease because technology is becoming so efficient that we don’t need as much manual labor. If we are not careful, technology will take away our jobs, and our lives. We have to stop this obsession with all these technological advancements. If we don’t use as much technology our eyes will open up again and we will begin to enjoy life as much as people enjoyed it 50 years ago.

           

Works Cited

"Amish 101 - Amish Culture, Beliefs & Lifestyle." About.com Pittsburgh. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. <http://pittsburgh.about.com/cs/pennsylvania/a/amish_2.htm>.

http://pittsburgh.about.com/cs/pennsylvania/a/amish_2.htm

“The Future of Technology and Its Impact on Our LivesBy Kunal Sinha, Ogilvy & Mather Shanghai” The Future of Technology and Its Impact on Our Lives by Kunal Sinha. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2014. <http://www.wpp.com/wpp/marketing/digital/the-future-of-technology/>.

http://www.wpp.com/wpp/marketing/digital/the-future-of-technology/

"Technology and Happiness | MIT Technology Review." MIT Technology Review. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2014. <http://www.technologyreview.com/review/403558/technology-and-happiness/>.

http://www.technologyreview.com/review/403558/technology-and-happiness/

Wall-E's Warning: How Disney Predicted Our Future

Technology: The Catalyst For American Laziness

        Part Three:

          Wall-E’s Warning: How Disney Predicted Our Future

Describing Wall-E and how its story is very relatable to what could happen to America

            So now you know that all this technology has some negative repercussions, but it can’t be too bad, right? Well, if this continues our country will just get lazier and lazier to the point where all of the once simple and refreshing aspects of life will just be wiped out. Our future is bleak and it may take some time to get there, but it could be very scary. Imagine a world where no one ever moves because technology can do everything for you. A world where computers run your life and no one needs to have their own thoughts. Sounds terrible, yet familiar, it’s almost as if I’ve seen it somewhere before. Yes, that’s right I’m talking about a Disney film. Wall-E. Could Disney have predicted our eerie future?

            If we continue on the path we are on it might not be that far off. For those of you who don’t know, in Wall-E the human race float around on chairs and talk to people through floating screens.

It seems so unlike the way we do things now and it’s an easy idea to brush off, but think about it. More and more you can find kids neglecting exercise and replacing it with watching TV and playing video games. Also, more and more fast food places are delivering now so you don’t have to leave your house to get it (Wall).  Before our very eyes we could watch our country turn into this nightmare demonstrated by Wall-E. Obesity is already growing at an unprecedented rate in America and shows no signs of slowing down. Will our world ever get to the dreaded point that it reached in Disney’s Wall-E? There is no way of knowing but if we don’t change something about the way we live, the future isn’t very bright.

            The other big theme throughout Wall-E is that the humans live in a spaceship because mass consumerism made the world uninhabitable so Wall-E stays behind to clean up the mess for their return. The Internet is the biggest reason for this. It’s not the concept of the Internet, but it’s what you can do on it. You can buy everything, clothes, movies, food; the list goes on and on (Did). Wall-E is a warning and the whole scenario of that movie should serve as a huge red flag for what our country is heading for. We are losing the simple joys that you get from going out of the house and shopping or renting a movie (How). If we don’t restore so of that in our lives our Earth could end up like the one displayed in Wall-E.

            Wall-E has given us all a glimpse into our future, and it looks like something I want to stay away from. Our society is just entirely centered around technology. We invest so much of our time on the Internet and don’t get anything that we couldn’t do in the real world. Something needs to change to prevent this Disney motion picture from becoming a reality.

           

Works Cited

"Did Disney Predict the Future of the Human Race?" The Huffington Post UK. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/lewis-shepherd/did-disney-predict-the-future-human-race_b_2494461.html>.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/lewis-shepherd/did-disney-predict-the-future-human-race_b_2494461.html

"How Technology Is Making Us Lazy." Www.mensxp.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. <http://www.mensxp.com/technology/web-and-social/9319-how-technology-is-making-us-lazy.html>.

http://www.mensxp.com/technology/web-and-social/9319-how-technology-is-making-us-lazy.html

"Wall E Fat Society - A Story Or A Prediction." Street Articles. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. <http://www.streetarticles.com/health-and-fitness/wall-e-fat-society-a-story-or-a-prediction>.

http://www.streetarticles.com/health-and-fitness/wall-e-fat-society-a-story-or-a-prediction