Is Technology an Addiction or an Essential Device in Our Everyday Research Paper

Is Technology an Addiction or an Essential Device in Our Everyday Lives - Research Paper Example Is Technology an Addiction or an Essential Device in Our Everyday Lives? The intent of this brief analysis will be to understand whether or not the way in which humanity currently interacts with technology is on the whole helpful or harmful – or whether it exhibits key aspects of what can be understood to be an unhealthful and addictive relationship of dependence. Firstly, it does not take a great deal of analytical or scientific discovery to realize that the way in which technology has reshaped and classified our world is without question. Moreover, a sociological increase into the way in which technology has shifted interpersonal dynamics, relationships, and communication has been conducted by a variety of researchers and convincingly pointed to the fact that the current era of texting, instant messaging, Facebook et al has significantly decreased the amount of time that individuals spend in face-to-face communication and has moved society convincingly towards something of a more introverted nature. Although introversion in and of itself is not n ecessarily a poor character trait, it must be noted that the overuse and reliance upon these technological tools which have already been discussed has created a dynamic by which formerly extroverted individuals are merely introverted and carrying out a great deal of interpersonal communication that one might otherwise carry out face-to-face via the Internet or other technologically enabled means (Bosetti, 2010). However, communication is not the only thing that suffers from an overdependence upon technology. As will be discussed next, memory recall and the perennial knowledge that any and all information can be readily retrieved has created a situation in which memory and the ability to recall tidbits of information are placed at a much lower premium than they might have been in an era in which the likes of Google or other prominent technological means by which data can be retrieved had existed. Again, it does not take a great deal of imagination to envision an era in which it was n ecessary for the schoolchild, or even societal shareholder, to be nominally familiar and remember such information as capitals of states, a rough understanding and appreciation for the order and number of presidents, how many chromosomes exists in human DNA, who the first woman in space was, for the year in which the state of Israel was created (Schimmenti & Caretti, 2010). As can be seen, there is something to be said for the amount of memory recall that individual can possess and leverage as a means of readily interjecting key understandings and tidbits of fact, data, and history into conversations and pertinent situations. However, with an overdependence upon technology has, situation in which individuals have placed this premium of memory and recall far down on the list of priorities; choosing instead to merely â€Å"Google that† or â€Å"look that up† (Ozcinar, 2011). It should be noted that there is nothing wrong with an individual relying upon technology as a me ans of achieving relevant levels of data or facts that they might not otherwise be familiar; yet, what has transpired is a situation in which data and factual recollection have so far decreased in value that the likes of Google and the other technological giants that exist within the current paradigm have come to supersede this basic and in innate human capacity