How is technology controlling us?
by Idamis Torres
The effect of technology in our society
Technology has without doubt changed our lives. It has changed the course of medicine, education and our own social relationships.
Is the growth of technology benefitial or hurtful to our society?
The Default Life (Episode #2 – “Screens”) by Sam McLoughlin
"What are our screens doing to us?" (The Default Life Episode #2 - 'Screens')
Youth and Technology
A national survey reported teenagers spend, on average, 8.08 hours a day using various forms of media, not including time spent doing school work or talking or texting on a cell phone. This includes television, commercial or self-recorded video, movies, video games, print, radio, recorded music, computers, cell phones, and the Internet. 2 Youth media use encompasses both consumption of media and creation of content.
Social Media
"After registering to use the site, users can create a User profile, add other users as "friends", exchange messages, post status updates and photos, share videos and receive notifications when others update their profiles. Facebook had over 1.3 billion active users as of June 2014."
"Instagram is an online mobile photo-sharing, video-sharing and social networking service that enables its users to take pictures and videos, and share them on a variety of social networking platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr."
"Twitter is an online social networking service that enables users to send and read short 140-character messages called "tweets"."
Is technology connecting us? Or controlling us?
It’s getting increasingly difficult to escape technology. The spread of mobile devices has driven a culture of ‘connectedness’, where email, social media and Internet are never more than a finger-tap away. Even when we start feeling the psychological need to unplug, we face enormous societal pressures to stay within technological arms-reach at all times. How is this constant connection to the world around us both enriching and limiting our lives? As our online networks expand, are we forced to withdraw from some of our ‘real life’ interactions?
Plugged in: Is technology connecting us? Or controlling us? (UBC Dialogues: Okanagan)
You decide
Today, we still have some control of technology, and its effects in our lives. You decide whether it has affected you positively or negatively. I don't think it's too late, let's take control.