Group Response #2

The first group that went today (Nov 17th) spoke about the advancement of technology and whether it has a positive or negative affect on today's society. Some of the main and most memorable points discussed was the issue of privacy and the affects of being part of the "microwave generation." The microwave generation is a term I learned in US History which refers to us being the generation who has easy and quick access to what we want - from microwavable foods to search engines on the internet and locators connected to social networks. Today we want everything to be of easy access and we become nearly dependent on the usage of technology almost dumbing ourselves down to the point of not being able to do any physical research or investigation ourselves. Using the internet in my opinion is detrimental because we  do not get to experience and learn from trial and error (by researching using books and actual field experience) which prevents us from accidentally learning and discovering new things. In addition, technological advancement can be very dangerous (ie: location options on social networking). Not only is it not everyone on the internets business to know your every location but it is a hazard to personal safety. Today's generation has grown up with technology and year by year as we grow up and mature, so does technology so it is nothing different or strange to us. However, when we speak to older generations they cannot imagine being accessible at all times and writing their lives out on the computer and publishing it for everyone to see. We are so used to technology being an everyday part of our lives but we get so engulfed in it without even realizing; I believe that we all should take a break from technologies such as Facebook and Twitter for a few days in order to get rid of the subconscious dependency.

Even though many of my thoughts toward technology seem to be negative, like many others of my generation and even of my mothers, I own a cell phone, I cyber stalk friends and update my twitter with some of my most recent thoughts that were inappropriate to say at the time I thought them. And like many others I cannot talk about the negatives of technology without talking about the positives. Technology has advanced culture and made life easier in many ways shapes and form and show that we are growing intellectually as a human race. However, I believe in many instances current technology has way more negatives than positives and at times could be the deciding factor between physical danger and safety, between pain and hurt.

Daisa Gainey
Sociology '14