The Growth of Technology and Humanity - Essay Example

For instance, when placed in juxtaposition with Ong’s consideration of writing as technology (p. 21), it could be considered in a sense that indeed, technology exceeds our humanity. Printed materials portray differing ideas of educated people which would be much appreciated have they been healthy but the sad thing is, papers also serve as battle fields. Words are exchanged in papers that infuriate authors, pens are used to destroy other people and make libelous claims. Television is also used as a means for this purpose where lawyers talk against their fellow lawyers, for instance if only to show who is more intelligent, politicians destroy each other with their words over radios, TV and the internet and the desire for fame and glory overthrows one’s education and sensibility.

Speaking of arguments in written form, sometimes they are unintentional and are not directly written to be argumentative rather informative however would present problems to the reader when the subject matter portray conflicting accounts as was encountered by Tompkins. In her search for the history of Indian Americans, she read different authors which consequently placed her in a quandary. This is usually what happens to audiences of what was mentioned earlier, in the case of arguments presented in the media whether written or through television or internet.

On the other side, technology also informs and encourages people to be observant, critical and ever watchful. In the case of the aforementioned writer, her quandary brought her to an in-depth study of the written words of the authors she read which eventually gave her a deeper understanding of their narrations and the differences in their accounts which allowed her to be more open minded. This could prove Ong’s philosophy that technologies are not mere exterior aids but also interior where there is a transformation of consciousness that occurs (25).

In a person’s search for truth with the various information that technology brings, when one is vigilant enough to use technology to his advantage, as it may be separate from a person, yet one cannot deny the fact that it affects one’s decisions and reactions. Had Tompkins simply choose to believe the author of her preference, the one whose views was to her liking, there would not have been a growing experience that she encountered in the process. An illumination about a problem occurred, about a problem which she thought was solved long ago but without the reading materials, without technology, she would have never discovered that her problems were not answered after all but were simply hidden.

Technology has always been a part of human beings and it probably will increase in its use as people depend on it more and more. This brings the fear that whatever humaneness was left during the time of Einstein might be lost forever with the rapid improvements made on technologies. If televisions were appreciated only when one got home to sit in the living room to enjoy it, now, one could watch movies anywhere and anytime. Laptops and notebooks now come handy and they bring more than what the television offers so that more time is spent on it as compared to the time spent in front of the television.

Cellphones are now affordable that even children have access to such machines, engaging them with activities that add to the information they learn in school. However, when one looks around, could there be any