Technology Synthesis Essay

Advancement in Technology

Technology is a word that is used to describe advancements, knowledge, creations, and abilities. Every day Technology continues to grow allowing our society to advance in the way we live our lives. Advancement in technology has created people in society to become more knowledgeable while allowing distractions to their everyday life.
Technology such as the Internet is a tool that society uses in their everyday life. The Internet is interactive and can provide endless information to people in society. Before the Internet, people had limitations to the knowledge they were able to obtain and it affected the opportunities society had to grow. Author Steven Pinker who wrote the article Mind over Mass Media makes a statement saying “If you train people to do one thing (recognize shapes, solve math puzzles, or find hidden words), they get better at doing that one thing.” Because the Internet has provided people with more knowledge, different aspects of society have been able to grow i.e. science. The amount of knowledge that is provided to people is endless. Pinker says “Knowledge is increasing exponentially…” where people are unable to keep up with the amount of knowledge that is accessible to them, but as they are able to learn, technology will continue to grow. Just like Pinker says “Far from making us stupid these technologies are the only thing that will keep us smart.”
As technology grows the ways of communicating continue to become more effective. We have the ability to communicate through cell phones and the internet. The advancement in technology has invented the way of texting on a cell phone or using the social media on the internet. Lynne Truss, the author of The Joy of Texting, gives a great example of what texting is by saying “texting is a supremely secretive medium of communication-its like passing a note…” Using the example of passing a note is a great way of interpreting a text because no one knows what the text says and it is in the same silent way of communicating as if you were passing a note. She shares her own thought in the article by saying “We are in love with effective communication and there’s nothing more effective than sending a messege direct from your phone to someone else’s.” Texting has become an effective way of communicating because you don’t need to call numerous people to be able to say something, but instead create a group text and be able to send a message to all of them in one text.
Effective way of communicating through the internet would be through social media sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and blogging. The internet gives a person the capability to not only communicate with the people that may be close to him, but the ability to communicate with people all over the world. Author George Russell who wrote the article What Would Happen If You Threw a Revolution and Everyone Showed Up? believes that it is also a more productive way of communicating. Russell says “Instead of the time waster of Television, we are now being productive because we’re able to “create and share” with one another via blogs and social media sites such as YouTube.” The Internet can be a way of communicating endless amounts of information on different subjects to people all over the world. Russell believes “…because of the Internet’s inherent massorganizing ability, by using it we are able to contribute to society.” Using the Internet is a great way to effectively communicate awareness to societies all over the world. The ability to communicate effectively has made communication easier for people in society. With the constant advancement in technology comes the distraction of people in society. People are always curious to know what the updates are on their Facebook or what kind of new videos have been uploaded to YouTube. There may be a person who keeps his cell phone by his side at all times and when he hears a “ding” sound there is an automatic reaction to find out if it was a text or a notification that he has an email. Author of Mind Over Mass Media, Steven Pinker, gives examples of ways to provide self-control “Turn off email or Twitter when you work, put away your Blackberry at dinner time, ask your spouse to call you to bed at a designated hour.” The examples given by Pinker can be successful ways to provide self-control. There are many people who are addicted to their cell phones. Cell phones can be used for texting, emailing, or phone calls that may be business related. Author of The Joy of Texting, Lynne Truss, was able to point out when people are distracted by a message they have received. Truss said “…there is a new facial expression I have observed which involves a fixed smile and panicky swivelled eyes, which means “I am still listening to you, but I can see I have a message, but I am honestly still listening to you, I will read the message later, so tell me again, what did you say, I wish I could read my effing message.” Distractions will always be around us, but it is up to us to be able to have self-control and to not allow the advancement in technology to change the way we act.
Conclusion: The advancement in technology has been a reality check to people in society. As technology advances, people have the ability to become more knowledgeable and advance in different aspects of life. The tools technology provides to people are effective communication which allows the change and growth to society and the people that live in it. Technology advances so quickly that is hard to keep up with, but it is important to have self-control so that everyday life is not full of distraction. As time goes by technology will continue to grow and provide society with new tools and provide new ways that we live our lives.