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Riley
Alexis Riley
February 9, 2016
Vos- English 3
JRP Draft
Technology and Society
Technology is an inherent democratizer. Because of the evolution of hardware and
software, youre able to scale up almost anything. It means that in our lifetimes everyone
may have tools of equal power -Sergey Brin ("Sergey Brin Quotes").
Seventy years ago society changed with the invention called an Electronic
Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC). Todays society might find it crazy to
think that it was not portable or able to fit in your back pocket, considering it was 60,000
pounds (Avery). Computers seventy years ago were also not used for the same reasons.
The purpose of the ENIAC was to speed up math calculations during World War . Many
people today believe the IPhone 6 Plus is ridiculous in size, and would be shocked to
realize the first portable phone invented forty-three years ago was over double its size. A
cell phone is no longer a phone but a smartphone. Today it is unusual for someone not
to have a smartphone. From 2003 smartphones have changed drastically, with less than
1% of phones being considered 'smart', compared to in 2014 nearly two-fifths of all
mobile phone users worldwide will use a smartphone at least monthly (Lomas). The first
time the computer and the cell phone were accessible to society was the first day that
society changed. The question is, was it changed in a good or bad way? Technology is
one of the leading forces of the future; it is reshaping our lives and our future at rates
never experienced in history before. Many different contributions affect how fulfilled
people are with their lives in todays society. Technology impacts these contributions and
change peoples day to day routine. Throughout history, people have looked for better

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ways to meet their needs and to satisfy their expectations. Technology has improved these
expectations by improving the way people learn, interact daily with others, and the
community surrounding them. People call modern day the "Technological Age" because
of society's dependence on technology. For the first time in human history, almost all the
goods and services people use depend on technology (Feldman 62).
As technology advances and society is connected by the touch of a fingertip, the
advancements are no longer used to simply tweet on Twitter or poke a friend on
Facebook. Technology has opened a world of connections in the palm of your hands. It is
possible to go virtually anywhere in the world and still remain in contact with somebody
as well as to pack more of these communications into a single day, with the Internet, email, and smart mobile phones ("Technology and Society"). The Internet and mobile
connectivity have increased the number of tools to communicate and build social
connections; "From the 1981 AT&T slogan 'Reach out and touch someone' to Twitters
'Whats happening?', these tools have promised to improve our quality of life" (Boose).
These tools have done more than created what are known as social ties, or information
carrying connections between people. These tools have changed the way people find
information for a research paper, how people find out what is happening somewhere on
the opposite side of the world, and how to get involved with the community around them.

Many people argue that technology is destroying society in reference to the saying
what you see online is not always true. When researched by Eric Feldman, professor at
Florida International University, "users decide what to believe based on mental notes on
who they are familiar with, and the connections between those entities" (Feldman 62).

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This means that people can be susceptible to believing and sharing non-credible
information as a fact without checking whether or not it is true. In order for students
have access to credible online information there are resources open to them like online
databases that have articles already read to confirm that the article is credible. This also
relates to tabloids and gossip magazines. People can be perceived one way based on what
is said about them online. For example, when voting on who should be president the
things one might see online might influence their vote. However, at the same time
technology allows people to become active and be involved in something they might not
of been in involved in in the first place, like online politics. The law enforcement as well
can be argued to be being effective negatively due to people taking videos of
confrontations between an officer and another person and then have the video be released
out of context and make the officer look bad. On the other hand, law enforcements are
advancing in technology as well that are helping keep themselves safe and the
community around them. It is in the peoples hands to use the accessibility in front of
them for the good and to use it correctly to continue advancing and benefiting society.
Technologys benefits are overall positive; though commonly associated with bringing
people together socially, technology also has a positive influence on the education,
political, and law enforcement system.