Kanell 1

Theodore Kanell

Kade Parry

English 2010

2 March 2017

Progression by Technological Fire

According to certain members of society, the world faces its greatest challenge yet: the

over abundance of technology. Technology, cell phones, and computers are now a near

ubiquitous aspect of modern life. As with all major changes to life and society, there is a

controversy over the effects of these changes; there are many that hope technology will create a

better society, while some fear technology will reduce humanitys intelligence. The fearful

ponder the possible detriments from the increase in devices such as shallowness, antisocial

behavior, loss of emotional understanding, decreased memory, and wasted time according to

Kenneth Goldsmith in his article Left to Our Own Devices (19). The hopeful, on the other

hand, anticipate technology allowing for a different, better memory and for humanity to change

with the new world. Investigating the articles from Stuart Wolpert, Kenneth Goldsmith and

Genevieve Roberts reveals the controversy; some believe technology is adversely affecting

childrens ability to interpret emotions, while others state technology is aiding humanity in its

quest to evolve and develop for the future, and still others concede that technology is both

positive and negative and with limits it can have a net positive effect. Comparing the evidence

shows that the use of technology will cause some harms but will allow humanity to create a

brighter future.
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One major concern about technology is its impacts on individuals lifestyle and methods

of communication. Stuart Wolpert reports in his article In Our Digital World, Are Young

People Losing the Ability to Read Emotions? that decreased sensitivity to emotional cues ... is

one of the costs (148). In the article Does Tech Make Us Stupid?, Roberts asserts that

technology leads to a shallowness of thought which includes emotional thinking (32). Wolperts

and Roberts troubling reports affirm that children may be losing the ability to read and

understand the emotions of others. Understanding emotions is an essential skill that promotes

effective communication which is crucial for collaborative work. A decrease in emotional

understanding and a shallower level of thinking could lead to more conflicts among common

people because of miscommunication. It is troubling that technology may lead to a decrease in

face to face emotional understanding, but there is an avenue of hope. Kenneth Goldsmith argues

that devices are simply changing the form of communication, placing face to face

communication to a relegated position. Communication through devices is crammed full of

emotions that children are extremely adept at interpreting (19). By considering all the sources, it

becomes clear that while technology may be eroding childrens face to face emotional

understanding, technology is also filling the hole with a new type of technological

communication. The loss of face to face emotional understanding is being replaced with an

increased comprehension of emotions communicated through electronic devices. Goldsmith

solves for the problems presented by Wolpert and Roberts. He demonstrates that the increasing

availability and use of technological devices allow for children to grow more skilled at

technological communication and understanding, reducing the problematic nature of students

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losing their emotional comprehension for face to face interactions. The change in communication

demonstrates how technology has forced humanity to adapt.

Genevieve Roberts asserts that the internet and easy accessibility of devices has led to a

substantial decrease in the average memory. She calls this the Google Effect (Roberts 32).

Roberts believes that people no longer attempt to memorize information, but instead [know]

where the information can be found (32). By changing our style of memory, it leads to a

continual reliance on technology. It means that if one loses access to their cell phone with its

memorized numbers, one would be unable to call for assistance. Although the Google Effect

(Roberts 32) may promote an increased reliance on technology, it also creates a more reliable

type of memory. Technological memory wont confuse details and will allow humanity to easily

and accurately recall past events. Goldsmith adds to the benefits of technological memories

stating that they allow people to connect with a community (19). Memories shared on the

social media or through the internet allow for instant communication of entire events with a

nearly unlimited amount of people. This influx of communication will provide children with a

greater understanding of their friends, their community, and their world. Roberts demonstrates

that an influx of devices will change how humanity retains its memories, but Goldsmith indicates

that these new memories can help humanity grow closer together.

A great worry of the ever increasing number of wires is that it may change how humanity

thinks and operates. Goldsmith contends that not only are the devices changing how individuals

think but our brains are being rewired (19) as a result of it. He argues that this evolution is

part of the natural progression of humanity (Goldsmith 19). Humanity has undergone many

drastic changes as humanity learned to gather food, to hunt, and to travel to the moon. The
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progression of humanity has been increasing and technology has been expanding at a very rapid

pace, and change is often difficult. Comparing Goldsmiths statement with Wolperts loss of

emotions and Roberts Google Effect (32) demonstrates how humanity is evolving and

changing.

Analyzing the potential loss of emotional understanding and the morphing of the

methodology of memorization reveals that Goldsmith is absolutely correct in his assertion that

humanity is changing and technology is promoting that change. Wolpert and Roberts

demonstrated technology may cause the loss of emotional understanding in direct interactions

and shrink humanities memories, but Goldsmith showed that these changes are the natural

progression of humankind. Goldsmith is the only source to acknowledge both sides of the

controversy, and he incorporates the good and bad to show that technology is leading humanity

to change and to ultimately progress.

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Works Cited

Goldsmith, Kenneth. "Left to our Own Devices." Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug 2016, pp. A.19.

SIRS Issues Researcher, http://sks.sirs.com.

Roberts, Genevieve. "Does Tech make Us Stupid?" The Independent, 16 Jul 2015, pp. 32. SIRS

Issues Researcher, http://sks.sirs.com.

Wolpert, Stuarts."In our Digital World, are Young People Losing the Ability to Read.." NewsRx

Health & Science, 2014, pp. 148 SIRS Issues Researcher, http://sks.sirs.com.