Technology vs. Tradition

     Technology is continuously advancing, and the impact that technology as a whole has had on human society is tremendous.  One aspect of technology that I find most interesting is the internet, and more specifically the Facebook network (by this I mean the realm of websites on the internet that provide similar services as Facebook).
   Even though Facebook allows people to stay in touch with everybody they know near and far from the comfort of their own home, it has had an adverse impact on society. The use of Facebook means that people do not have to have any physical or verbal interaction with each other. It also means that people do not have to leave their homes as much to run errands that they might do without the availability of the Facebook network, which in turn means that people are less active. However, the Facebook network could be a positive thing if people regulated their use of it.

     Technology has definitely advanced in many helpful ways, but it often comes with a sacrifice. It is great that keeping in touch with friends in foreign countries or becoming re-acquainted with lost, distant relatives is so easy. Never-the-less, when that technology is used in a way that changes human interaction with each other from day to day it should be questioned.

    Traditionally people would physically visit their friends and family at their homes if they had the means, and if not they would at least be able to hear each other’s voices over the phone or read a thoughtful letter with complete sentences. Instead of physically going to visit a loved one, someone these days might just write a “how are you doing” on Facebook. This way if they decide the conversation is getting boring or heated, they can simply quit typing and blame it on getting sidetracked. This makes our lives just a little more cold and distant.

    Furthermore, the Facebook network or actually the entire internet for that fact enables people to just sit at their computer all day and never leave their home. That pertinent little bit of exercise you might get from walking down the street to share the latest neighborhood news with your neighbor, or from driving to the post office to mail a letter is no longer there. However slight it is, that small amount of exercise becomes a significant amount of exercise over a period of time, and is what helps keep us humans healthy and active.

      As we discussed in class it is difficult for many people to grasp the idea that there isn’t one solution that is completely right.  Consequently, I don’t think Facebook is entirely wrong I just think that, as often happens when the latest and greatest technology comes out, it is abused. It is simply ridiculous that people cannot do something so simple as to walk down the street, or drive, or even get up and make a phone call. Is having a real conversation with somebody that terrible?

Go outside once in a while! It's much more beautiful than a computer screen!