Between CEP 452 and CEP 416, I've learned a lot about different types of technologies and ways to incorporate them into my future classroom. It is amazing to me how many different types of technologies there are out there, and how each of them offer so many different possibilities. As a result of this, however, our society has become incredibly dependent on technology. Personally, I have no idea what I'd do without it. I've recently fallen in love with online shopping, simply because of its convenience and my ability to get my holiday shopping done in my apartment. If I want to order food, instead of calling, I can now view the menu, schedule delivery, and pay online. Instead of talking to a friend face-to-face or scheduling a time to meet for lunch, I can Facebook, text, email, etc. to get in touch. Instead of going to the library to rent books for a research paper, I can look up almost any book online and read it, or find online sources in order to get my papers written and homework done without leaving my apartment as well. In fact, a lot of classes and homework and exams are administered online as opposed to having a scheduled class time and meeting face-to-face! Why are we so dependent on technology? Two (or maybe even one) generations ago, our grandparents had absolutely nothing technological to rely on, sometimes not even a TV. Even still, my grandparents openly refuse to touch cell phones, computers, the Internet, etc. and solely rely on a home phone and TV.
According to the New York Times, technology is taking a toll on society. The first line of the article stood out to me the most: "Are your Facebook friends more interesting than those you have in real life?" It is almost entirely true of my generation, because the word "technology" for my generation is typically nowadays defined by "Facebook."
Almost everything we do utilizes technology, so, as I asked before: Why are we so dependent on technology? More importantly, what would we do without it? I, for one, can't imagine living in my grandparents' generation, and find it interesting that they similarly want nothing to do with my generation that is so dependent on it. Unfortunately for them, however, I don't think society is ever going back to the time when technology didn't exist. At this point, we are forever dependent on technology.
