What is more important: Technology or Clear Decision Making?

As technology is advancing to make our lives “easier”, it seems as if more problems are arising. Young adults are losing their face-to-face communication skills due to the thousands of social networking sites and the millions of web pages on the internet.  Along with the growing amount of people who have little-to-no interpersonal communication skills, the countless amounts of information received through technology is affecting even the way we make decisions. I constantly wonder how the world would be if all technology were to be stripped away from society. One can only imagine there would be complete chaos.  With all of this information flowing through our daily lives via text, twitter, or the television, it is hard to stay focused.

Having too much information can truly affect the decisions one makes. In these past few months, I have been contemplating between two cars to purchase. As I test-drove and researched both vehicles, I was in awe at the amenities both had to offer. In Sharon Begley’s article, “I Can’t Think!” she states that a decision is harder to make when the amount of information you have is greater. If only the car salesman would have helped me cut out all the erroneous facts, my decision would have been far easier.

With so much technology in all shapes and sizes it is all too easy to stay distracted during a three hour lecture. Although, I admit that I am addicted to checking my “Facebook Newsfeed”, my Biology class would be a lot more interesting if not having to compete with all the games and apps my iPhone has to offer. When looking around, I notice most students looking down at their laps, faces lit up by their gleaming smart phones.

Professors are becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of student participation. With that being said, I’m going to make an effort to no longer allow the streams of social media to further distract me from my studies. With so much information being thrown at me in the classroom, the last thing I need to focus on are others “tweets.”

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