Extended Blog # 1

Is technology improving or destroying our world? Many argue that we are losing the fundamentals of our culture with the advancement of technology. However, I beg to differ, I think technology has made us smarter. The only flaw I see with our advanced world is that we rely on it. For example, we would be in a panic if computers crashed. With the invention of papyrus, we have the ability to write down important and non-important information, nevertheless recording information on our culture. Not only can you record while writing, you also practice your speech skills. I firmly believe that how you speak reflects on how you write. In other words, if you speak well then you write well. Without one of the first advancements in technology, the papyrus, we would still be living in a primary oral world. With writing and computers, we can communicate around the world. We can share our cultures with others while we learn their culture as well, better connecting us.

Personally, I’m not sure I would read or that others would read, even if the Internet didn’t exist. There are so many options to occupy ourselves, with or without technology, who is to say we would spend our spare time reading? Also, does reading a gossip book make us smarter? Do fictional books increase our intelligence? Sure, Twilight can educate me on fictional vampires, but where in the novel does it increase my knowledge of real life facts. However, Gardner brings attention to the fact that, “Works of fiction -- the writings of Jane Austen, Leo Tolstoy, Toni Morrison, William Faulkner -- allow us to inhabit fascinating worlds we couldn't have envisioned” (Gardner, p.1). I do agree that works of fiction, allow us to imagine, helping us in the creativity department, but I do not think that not reading books of any kind makes our society illiterate. The ability to simply “Google” can increase one’s intelligence, it is much more convenient to look up information quickly, rather then trying to find time to search through books at a local library. Gardner states, “the advantages of Amazon's hand-held electronic Kindle reading device trumps a suitcase full of dog-eared paperbacks” (Gardner, p.1). Technology such as the Kindle, allows people to have multiple books on a device, making it easy to carry around a thousand books on one device. Sites such as Google, Bing, etc make it easy to look up information that could be contained in millions of books. Ong mentions, “in a primary oral culture, the expression, “to look up something is an empty phrase” (Ong, p.50). In our secondary orality culture, we can save time when using the Internet. We can “look up” information of all kinds expanding our intelligence. Technology does not seem like an evil, but a faster way of broadening our intelligence.

Writing did not make us “dumb”, but yet made us individuals. We have the ability to express who we are through modern technology, rather than acting as robots strictly memorizing information. Jacoby mentions that fewer and fewer people read books in today’s world, making us ignorant and dumb. She states, “The proportion of 17-year-olds who read nothing (unless required to do so for school) more than doubled between 1984 and 2004. This time period, of course, encompasses the rise of personal computers, Web surfing and video games”(Jacoby, p.1). However she does not mention the positives of modern technology and how the rise of personal computers allows us to retrieve information from the Internet versus books. For example, even through Facebook I find important links about current events, local news, school events, history, etc where I learn information. Without modern technology, I would not know nearly as much as I do today. Modern technology and social networking sites such as Facebook allow others to share their knowledge that can be of great importance. Every day, I check Facebook and I practice my grammar skills through what I type on the Internet.

Whether it’s typing, texting, or writing on a daily basis, we are improving our speech and writing skills rather then only having the ability to speak. Technology helps us practice our communication skills. Writing or typing also improves our memory skill, allowing us to share effectively through technology, orally, or on paper. Technology is not perfect, it can have its faults. Technology such as computers can be bad for the human eyes. Those of us who use slang through text messaging and social net working sites can decrease our grammar skills. Video games can serve to be bad influences on children. However, overall technology has improved our writing and speech skills, improving our world. The emphasis on reading is exaggerated. While reading helps improves our grammar, speaking, and writing skills, it does not make us less or more smart. Our modern day technology such as the kindle, Internet, cell-phone, social networking site, etc provides us easy and fast access to important information. In today society, we have numerous ways to learn and “new inventible ways of speaking about human life, therefore of thinking about it” (Havelock, p.41).We are constantly learning even though we may not realize it, we do not have to pick up a book to be considered as smart intellectuals. In our world today, almost everyone knows basic history and local knowledge. Back in the day of only oral communication, only a few people knew history, stories, etc spending their whole day memorizing and repeating their knowledge. Because of the advancement of writing, almost everyone in our modern society can have a life full of activity while still knowing history, current events, etc. Writing has made our world what it is today. It has benefited us in every aspect.

Gardner, H. (2008, February 17). The end of literacy? don't stop reading. The Washington Post.

Havelock, E. (2003). The Greek Legacy. In D. Crowley, P. Heyer, (Eds.), Communication in history: technology, culture, society (pp. 38-43). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Jacoby, S. (2008, February 17). The dumbing of America. The Washington Post.

Ong, W. (2003). Orality, Literacy, and Modern Media. In D. Crowley, P. Heyer, (Eds.), Communication in history: technology, culture, society (pp. 49-55). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.