What over looked damage is the obsession of technology leading to?
Introduction: It may be cliché to start out a paper with a definition but I believe that defining the problem plays a key role in the construction of forming ideas. Addiction: 1: the quality or state of being addicted, 2: compulsive physiological need for a habit-forming drug. (Webster Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary) Why do we get addicted? What triggers our brain to feel the constant need for repetition? The endorphins within ones brain become released and gives the feeling of pleasure. The more this feeling relates to happiness the more it is craved. "Addictions," says Joseph Frascella, director of the division of clinical neuroscience at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), "are repetitive behaviors in the face of negative consequences, the desire to continue something you know is bad for you." The more we are told to not do something the more likely we are to continue to keep doing it or start doing it.
Many see technology as advancement but in reality we are addicted and it is setting us back in many ways. Argument 1: Obesity is caused by another addiction: food. Looking back at history there have been times where it is socially accepted to have a heavier build. People found as though when someone was larger it was a symbol of wealth verses someone who was thinner which symbolized lower class. It is very clear today from not only the media but also the way our society stereotypes people that when an overweight person is seen people view them as lazy and poor. Never the less it has been proven that it can lead to everyday problems and further more being overweight can lead to major long term health problems. In nearly the past 30 years the obesity rate in the United States as gone from the national average being 15% to 25% in the year 2009. It is due to unhealthy eating habits, non-nutritional meals in our schools and high food prices. The National Strategy to Combat Obesity listed in F as in Fat 2009 – Trust for America’s Health, listed polices that could decrease the obesity rate. “Provide healthy foods and beverages to students at schools, Increase the availability of affordable healthy foods in all communities, Increase the frequency, intensity, and duration of physical activity at school, Improve access to safe and healthy places to live, work, learn, and play, Limit screen time and encourage employers to provide workplace wellness programs.” The professionals stress that our nation needs more physical activity and less screen time. By either creating these habits and or stopping bad habits it will help people who have either addiction to food or bad eating habits due to technology and will make a difference to their general health. These health problems that are partially due to overuse of technology can lead to even worse issues such as diabetes, heart attacks, bad cholesterol etc.
Argument 2: As the generation that has literally had technology at their fingertips since the second of arriving to this planet one would think that we would be the most addicted. Regardless of when you start, once you start using technology you may automatically becoming part of a cyber world that is pretty physically impossible to exit. While conducting interviews with five random people in New York City (9/23/09) approximately all of them spent 6 hours a day using technology. That number could be skewed because the person was embarrassed to admit their actual number of hours complete considering humans don’t like to admit to problems. Most of the people interviewed, except for one, said that if they had children they would allow them to use technology. The one exception thought they would be better off outside playing or taking in nature. As a big technology user I will admit that I watch television on Mondays and Thursdays. Sometimes I watch it if I really have nothing else to do but usually there is nothing on that really sparks my interest. I am constantly texting unless I am sleeping or my mother takes my phone away. I am usually on the computer when I have spare moments or I am not outside or at School. Honestly, I know I have a problem. The interesting thing is though that my parents didn’t allow me to watch television until I was about two. When I asked my mom why she said: “We decided there were more important things for you to be doing.” Yet even though for 2 years out of my almost 17 years of being alive I wasn’t exposed to as much technology I am just as addicted as the teen sitting next to me who has always had it in their life. That’s what’s interesting that once you start there really is no turning back.
Argument 3: As a world dealing with the current issue of global warming, shouldn’t this be a huge STOP sign that we hit? All of the warnings are being made so clear but yet the ideas being proposed to us are making no impact on our actions in following them. Some people are buying solar cars and some people are building homes with solar panels but is everyone? No. There are a lot of people that can’t afford to spend large amounts of money on new fancy equipment that is going to help slow down the process of the damage previous generations and current generations are causing. A huge leader though in trying to move forward is former Vice President, Al Gore. It seems as though in not gaining power of the President of the United States he took a turn in a positive direction to help inform the country of issues previous presidents neglected. In one of his very important speeches, A Generational Challenge to Repower America he stated: “In order to foster international cooperation, it is also essential that the United States rejoin the global community and lead efforts to secure an international treaty at Copenhagen in December of next year that includes a cap on CO2 emissions and a global partnership that recognizes the necessity of addressing the threats of extreme poverty and disease as part of the world's agenda for solving the climate crisis.” All of the pollution being exposed to our planet is not only hurting the health of our environment but the health of the living creatures on it, humans included. What leads back to all of this external damage though is the technology that is giving off negative affects which is creating negative affects to our health. “But if we grab hold of that common thread and pull it hard, all of these complex problems begin to unravel and we will find that we're holding the answer to all of them right in our hand.
The answer is to end our reliance on carbon-based fuels.” (Al Gore) While it is very clear that the United States nation is addicted to the burning of fossil fuel, no one is saying that we have to suffer because we are just to lazy. We are ignoring long-term effects and we are always so focused on what’s going on with others verses how certain decisions are having affect on us.
Argument 4: As New Yorkers it is less likely to see us in a car driving, we are the users of public transportation. Since many drivers believe that they can multi task while driving a vehicle weighing tons drivers are more prone to accidents. Not only have their been accidents due to texting in cars but in even larger vehicles, trains and planes. Just last year in California there was an incident of an engineer killing 25 people including himself and injuring more than 130 others. “California officials today issued a temporary order banning train operators from using cell phones on duty…Federal transportation authorities say the engineer of a Southern California commuter train who ran a red light and slammed into a freight train last Friday…text-messaging on his cell phone. The engineer, Robert Sanchez, who died in the crash, never hit his brakes…Today, the California Public Utilities Commission unanimously passed an emergency order to ban the use of cell phones and other personal electronic devices while operating a train.” Often as I walk down the streets of New York I am doing exactly what this engineer made the mistake of doing. If I look up I usually see many people around me who are also engaged in their cell phones. It’s as if we are wearing earplugs and blocking out all of the life around us to focus on someone inside our phones. This makes us more venerable to bumping into someone but an even more severe life-threatening issue being getting hit by a car. We risk our lives everyday by walking down the street so that we can have constant communication to keep our minds stimulated. Another more recent incident of distraction was when pilots of a Northwest Flight flew a plane 150 miles past their destination. The two pilots Cheney and Cole told investigators they lost track of their location and time due to work they were doing on their laptops. "We simply want to ensure that, with all of the electronic distractions available these days, flying the plane remains the one and only focus," (Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J.) They put the lives of both themselves and all of the passengers of the plane at stake. If we are given a task we should be able to focus on it and get the job done but with all of the distractions around us our jobs take longer and in some cases put our lives on the line.
Argument 5: Lastly though focusing on the matter of mental health. People in this world tend to have very large ideas and know that the only way to express these ideas is through action and words, by making a statement. The truth is we don’t know what’s going to happen with our addictions and we have no idea how different or similar our lifestyles will be in 5 or 10 years. Although in the 1990’s there was a man who tried warning us of the dangers of technology. Ted Kaczynski aka The Unabomber used violent means to get his message across, which I don't agree with. However in his manifesto he put forth ideas about the damage technology has done and continues to do. He was trying to describe how technology caused many of the problems the world was facing at the time. “The bomber sent more devices throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and he wounded and killed several people during his violent career. The UNAbomber eventually mailed a letter in which he threatened to continue his campaign of terror unless The New York Times and other newspapers published a lengthy "manifesto" in which the bomber blamed modern technology for the woes of the world. Editors consulted with authorities and subsequently published the manifesto with the hope that someone might recognize the style and thoughts of the bomber.” The hate for the overuse of technology classified him as a crazy person. In reality though maybe the way he showed his opinion was crazy but the deeper meaning was right on point. The over usage of devices lead him to be mentally unstable to the point where he acted in dangerous manners. It wasn’t necessarily his fault though he was frustrated with the way the world was reacting to gadgets, and wanted to make a change. His brother recognized his writing style and turned him into FBI.
Alternative Point of View: We must consider the fact that it is possible to live a perfectly fine life without the need for machines and technological devices. Take for example Amish people. They have no technology incorporated into their lives. They have alternatives and can still function normally. In theory I believe they are much more aware of their bodies than we are. Since most of the day we are disembodied we forget to step back and make sure that we are functioning properly because we forget to think about the critical parts of what’s going inside. While people like the Amish can take more time to focus on their health. People forget that it is physically possible to conduct a technology free life. Another example of a group of people who were able to live healthier lives without technology is Colin Beavan from the book “No Impact Man”, which is now a movie as well. He and his family decided that for a year they would literally not use any technology. It was hard for them because they were surrounded by so many temptations but they made it for a whole year. Not only did it reverse his wife’s diabetes but he was a healthier person all around both physically and mentally. It really does have an affect on how we act daily and causes our emotions to tense up. We don’t need it to be happy there are other ways to live and probably for a lot longer because our bodies and minds are actually moving. People forget that even just 100 years ago people were able to life and be happy with just the company of those surrounding them. A world that involves more face-to-face communication, and struggle to get information is very possible but is the world we live in now ready to handle something like that?
Conclusion: Why does all this matter? Everyday as we sit on our couches, eating our super sized meals, twiddling our thumbs on our full keyboards, where we are constantly updating THE WORLD on every moment of every second of our lives, actual bad things are happening. People are starving, dehydrated; suicide bombers are killing themselves and communities for what? What is provoking all of this? When we watch the news about all of the bad stuff happening it is just making us more depressed so we pick up habits like over eating and smoking, and drinking, and drugs. Is this the purpose intended to fulfill a meaningful life filled with reason? Why do we do the things we do? Technology is worsening and decreasing our life span and happiness in some ways. No we can't determine what happiness is but how can we be happy in the moment we are in when we are constantly disembodied?
