Technology has become a very prominent tool in the lives of human beings. It has allowed for advancements in medicine, job opportunities, efficiency in everyday life, and better communication. Even with the incredible contributions technology has made, it is still important to acknowledge the negative effects it has on the human experience.
With the increased use of technology, human beings seem to have lost their connection to the physical world. We seem to distance ourselves from the "here" and "now" as we text, log on to social media, and watch Netflix on the computer. Instead of simply enjoying the outdoors, we capture the scenery in pictures on our cell phones- separating us from what really matters. Contemporary American culture has created the idea that taking a picturing of a landscape is more important than reveling in the beauty of the place itself.
In my own life, I see this problem everywhere. I walk down the street or past people in a coffee shop and see everyone taking pictures of themselves or the food in front of them to later document on social media. I think the experience of sitting and drinking a coffee loses it's significance when we take a picture of it and document it forever. There is something powerful in the fact that the experiences we have today will be completely different tomorrow. This knowledge helps us to live life to the fullest, and appreciate the world around us. Technology has restricted this power, and created a world where we can disconnect from the physical world and live in the pictures of past experiences.
In the world around me, I see everybody with a phone in their hand. I watch videos of events filmed from a smart phone, and people's experiences documented in a slide show of pictures. As we continue to whip out our phones to capture an event, we miss out on what is happening right in front of us. Technology is taking away our humanity, and distancing us from nature. It is scary to realize that one of the biggest accomplishments of the human race could also completely isolate us from the natural world: the Earth is which we came.
I really liked your second paragraph. I hadn't thought about technology taking away from the here and now, but you're right. That's absolutely what it does. Instead of living in the world in front of them, they live in a world that isn't actually there. They detach from the natural world. I wonder if technology hadn't advanced so quickly, if it would have had a less drastic impact. Would the disconnect be less severe?
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