Our society revolves around the discovery and creation of innovative technologies that will lead us to a bigger and brighter future. We are constantly searching for simpler, faster, and more efficient ways to live our lives. There is always some new, must-have gadget or update that we can’t live without. It is a never-ending cycle and we are never completely satisfied. It has become the age of technology and it is not too hard to see that we are slowly losing our humanity in the process.
It is in our everyday lives that you can notice the changes. People no longer communicate the way they used to. Interpersonal communication has been taken over by texting, tweeting, or Facebook posts. The one-on-one and face-to-face communication is quickly vanishing. You can see it when you walk into a restaurant and everyone is on their cellphones instead of engaging with the people around them. It is also noticeable in the way we read and analyze information. We need information whenever, wherever, and as fast as possible. Our brains are constantly taking in and analyzing mass amounts of information, never allowing us time for in-depth processing. Just as computers require high-speed data-processing, so do our brains as we attempt to keep up with this continuous change. Our specie’s unique abilities to think abstractly, act from the heart, and use our instincts to make decisions are fading as our minds evolve into the nature of today’s society.
As we allow technology to overtake every aspect of our lives, we will begin to shed some of our humanity, rendering it useless. As the environment’s nature evolves into a technological base, so will humans. Eventually, we will become the technology. It may sound a bit exaggerated, but in essence, we will become the epitome of our creations: Robots. I am not saying we will grow limbs made of steel or metal, but we will lose the need for human characteristics, taking on those of technologies instead. As stated by Neil Postman in “Five Things We Need to Know about Technological Change,” “We need to proceed with our eyes wide open so that we may use technology rather than be used by it.”