Has Technology Ruined Society?

RockinRolla

So here I am watching television, playing the Xbox, browsing the internet etc, and it's a beautiful day outside. Do I feel the need to go out? Of course not. What about past generations - people cycled to work, now they drive cars, obesity is up, society is becoming more lazy, global warming is increasing....

But what about our dream world, we now live in. We are becoming more introverted, we are selfish, we are manipulated through television to live life a certain way or purchase things we don't need, we live beyond our means - building castles on sand, increasing overdrafts, getting into credit card debt with impulsive buying and brainwashing advertising.

The worst of all is, we are constantly creating new ways to become less social. Facebook, Myspace, Bebo - all networks that allow us to talk to each other without shaking each others hand in the physical form. We are creating ways to become more isolated and distant from each other.

Is technology ruining society?

Cheap Thrills!

Yeah :pac:

Fart

Thats ROCK 'n' ROLL M8!!!!

Azureus

Only if you let it/are quite a boring person!

Its sunny outside and the ONLY reason I am online is cuz im stuck in work. I would much rather be in Howth eating fish and chips and getting attacked by seagulls.

''We are becoming more introverted'' > no Im not?

''we are selfish'' . no Im not?

''we are manipulated through television to live life a certain way or purchase things we don't need'' . no Im not?

''we live beyond our means - building castles on sand, increasing overdrafts, getting into credit card debt with impulsive buying and brainwashing advertising'' . Im pretty sure you know were Im going with this....

As for social networking, very entertaining in work and helps me keep my photos etc of experiences without coffee stains. I technology.

mikom

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Take most people, they're crazy about cars. They worry if they get a little scratch on them, and they're always talking about how many miles they get to a gallon, and if they get a brand-new car already they start thinking about trading it in for one that's even newer. I don't even like old cars. I mean they don't even interest me. I'd rather have a goddam horse. A horse is at least human, for God's sake.[/FONT]

trebor28

when you really think about it the smarter the human brain gets the lazier it gets!
everything in life is designed to make our time doing something shorter!
the bicycle was invented cause it was faster than walking, then the car was invented cause it was faster than cycling, the aeroplane was ....

who knows where or in what state we will end up in.

chin_grin

mikom wrote: »

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Take most people, they're crazy about cars. They worry if they get a little scratch on them, and they're always talking about how many miles they get to a gallon, and if they get a brand-new car already they start thinking about trading it in for one that's even newer. I don't even like old cars. I mean they don't even interest me. I'd rather have a goddam horse. A horse is at least human, for God's sake.[/FONT]

Some wimmins treat em like that in those awful videos on teh intarwebs. Scustin'.

danniemcq

Hang on, you are online, playing xbox AND watching TV? you must be a girl cause no guy can multitask that much

petes

Watching television, playing xbox and browsing the web?

How many eyes/hands do you have?

/edit dannie got there before me!!

WindSock

Technology hasn't ruined society, it has just changed how people interact. There are many more doors open now, socially imo.

Banned Account

trebor28 wrote: »

when you really think about it the smarter the human brain gets the lazier it gets!
everything in life is designed to make our time doing something shorter!
the bicycle was invented cause it was faster than walking, then the car was invented cause it was faster than cycling, the aeroplane was ....

who knows where or in what state we will end up in.

This is true - many moons ago I dreamt of someone inventing a wonderous machine that would wash dishes for me. Now that I have one, I spend my time dreaming of a wonderous machine that will take the clean dishes out and put them away from me.

I call it the pursuit of egonomic living - truly a noble cause.

Dravokivich

I wouldn't say ruined society... but it has spoilt it... everyone expects everything to be much more quicker and direct now...

FreudianSlippers

No.

/thread

It hasn't ruined society.. The mobile phone has done more for social interaction than anything that ever came before it. That one thing alone makes any negatives worth it.

topper75

I agree.

I stare at a screen all day for a living. There is very little interaction or chat involved in my job. I have a daily phone call with India. I have definitely become a lot more introverted since beginning work in the IT industry some years ago. I have witnessed this introversion in my colleagues as well when I suggest a cup of tea.

TV is so bad that its unreal. So much junk (not just ads) is fired at you but it is magnetic. Your laptop gives you control at least but you are still liable to become its slave. For all the enjoyment I have got from the internet, I'd pull the plug on it in the morning to be honest. Mobile phones mean there is no time to yourself. Friends can get funny if you don't answer calls/texts almost immediately.

The trick is to be conscious of this and fight it. I make sure my evenings are spent outside. I go fishing, cycling, picking blackberries, skinnydipping - whatever! Even in winter, I'll jog, I'll go to the pool. The last resort is a night on the couch watching TV.

Don't worry too much about society because even 20th cent dicatators with all their might couldn't control it. Worry about yourself. You have total control over what kind of person you are and how you spend your time.

King Felix

If you couple George Anderla's theory of the exponential doubling of information with the principle of negative entropy, whereby the more information entering a system leads to more order/less chaos in that system, I'd say technology will ultimately be a good thing for society.

up for anything

Rubbish. In it's day the pre-sliced pan was supposed to do much the same thing.

NothingMan

RockinRolla wrote: »

building castles on sand

Ok, You may have some points, giving that I am on holidays, backpacking around the south of Spain and here I am on boards, It´s 30 + degrees oustside and a whole city to discover but again I´m here on boards, now maybe you can attribute that to laziness, or maybe if my girlfriend woke up I wouldn´t have to get drunk alone (mmm beer).

But either way, I have not built a sand castle for years! So you´re wrong!!!

starbelgrade

danniemcq wrote: »

Hang on, you are online, playing xbox AND watching TV? you must be a girl cause no guy can multitask that much

I don't believe the myth about women being able to multi-task better than men. Just because you can iron & watch daytime TV at the same time, doesn't make it any truer.

NothingMan

topper75 wrote: »

I agree.

I stare at a screen all day for a living. There is very little interaction or chat involved in my job. I have a daily phone call with India. I have definitely become a lot more introverted since beginning work in the IT industry some years ago. I have witnessed this introversion in my colleagues as well when I suggest a cup of tea.

Eh awww!!! I also work in IT and over the last 4 years I have had more of a social life than ever. Probably because I can afford it. My IT colleagues and I have a great laugh. In fact any outsider would probably think we were all mortal enemies from the amount of slagging that goes on.

In short, you´re just getting more boring!

Deus Ex Machina

Technology is destroying society as it was prior to technology, but that is to be expected, the wheel destroyed society as it was prior to the wheel. Society is constantly evolving, any specific way of living is a transient condition, new ways of doing things emerge and change the way people live and engage with each other.

Having said that, I certainly don't think that we are necessarily determined by our surroundings, just because we have the option to stay in a use computers doesn't me we have to, we have a choice.

mconigol

If it wasn't for all this technology I'd have to be doing my job right now...:eek:

Earthhorse

trebor28 wrote: »

everything in life is designed to make our time doing something shorter!
the bicycle was invented cause it was faster than walking, then the car was invented cause it was faster than cycling, the aeroplane was ....

Come on dude, don't leave me hanging here.

King Felix wrote: »

If you couple George Anderla's theory of the exponential doubling of information with the principle of negative entropy, whereby the more information entering a system leads to more order/less chaos in that system, I'd say technology will ultimately be a good thing for society.

And what if I don't couple George Anderla's theory of the exponential doubling of information with the principle of negative entropy? What then, smart guy?

knird evol

RockinRolla wrote: »

Is technology ruining society?

I have one of those tefal things that makes a basket of chips in twenty minutes with one spoon of oil.

Now wheres your God ?

RockinRolla

knird evol wrote: »

Now wheres your God ?

I don't have a god.

danniemcq

Insurgent wrote: »

Watching television, playing xbox and browsing the web?

How many eyes/hands do you have?

/edit dannie got there before me!!

Great minds think alike... although fools seldom differ ...

starbelgrade

It all started in the Garden of Eden when Eve took that Apple off the serpent.

FreudianSlippers

knird evol wrote: »

I have one of those tefal things that makes a basket of chips in twenty minutes with one spoon of oil.

Now wheres your God ?

Oh... and the nespresso machines that make perfect cups of espresso!

topper75

NothingMan wrote: »

Eh awww!!! I also work in IT and over the last 4 years I have had more of a social life than ever. Probably because I can afford it. My IT colleagues and I have a great laugh. In fact any outsider would probably think we were all mortal enemies from the amount of slagging that goes on.

In short, you´re just getting more boring!

In short, you're just getting pissed more often. All jobs enable that!

mikom

starbelgrade wrote: »

It all started in the Garden of Eden when Eve took that Apple off the serpent.

Correction: It all started in the Garden of Eden when Eve took that Apple Iphone off the serpent.

danniemcq

starbelgrade wrote: »

I don't believe the myth about women being able to multi-task better than men. Just because you can iron & watch daytime TV at the same time, doesn't make it any truer.

They can also nag, complain, moan and wreck heads in general at the same time.

(I'm so glad my GF isn't a boardsie )

Craebear

Bah screw society, technology is cool.

Naikon

I laugh when people proclaim "the Internet is ruining our lives" declaring that post 1990's society is going to hell. Wake up call, the "Net" has been around since the late 60's. I bet you the people at DARPA who conceived such a creation and actually implemented it thought about blogging crap and spamming others "walls" with ASCII pOrn back in the day. This isn't attributed to a post 1980's society, regardless of "Facebook" and other totally non innovative tech out there. Hardcore computer users have been around since the invention of the computer(and possibly abbacus). I am sure Jesus and the lads spent hours reading and writing garbage for plesure. Addiction can be applied to any enjoyable activity.

I mean, the guys who invented the Unix Operating System thought it would be awesome to squeeze more cycles from their PDP-7 machines to improve their space computer game. So, Unix was invented not to benefit corporate interest but for K&R to play their game in peace! It's not the fault of "the Net" or our "digital society", it's simply human nature to be addicted to something as a result of personality traits. It's not the "Nets" fault you are an addict. Understanding the sheer power of a tool, and respecting it for that precise, potentially fatal power is something alot of people overlook. Thats why you see cases like that American kid who nearly killed himself by messing with electricity.

"Blame everyone but I, they say. How could I be responsible for my own problems?"

PEOPLE ARE RUINING SOCIETY, NOT TECHNOLOGY!

Overheal

The Internet and Political Correctness have both grown at a wildly exponential rate.

King Felix

Earthhorse wrote: »

And what if I don't couple George Anderla's theory of the exponential doubling of information with the principle of negative entropy? What then, smart guy?

Chaos, man. Chaos.

Deus Ex Machina

King Felix wrote: »

Chaos, man. Chaos.

Hmmm...how are you defining chaos in this instance?

JustAddWater

The irony of your post!

RockinRolla wrote: »

So here I am watching television, playing the Xbox, browsing the internet etc, and it's a beautiful day outside. Do I feel the need to go out? Of course not. What about past generations - people cycled to work, now they drive cars, obesity is up, society is becoming more lazy, global warming is increasing....

But what about our dream world, we now live in. We are becoming more introverted, we are selfish, we are manipulated through television to live life a certain way or purchase things we don't need, we live beyond our means - building castles on sand, increasing overdrafts, getting into credit card debt with impulsive buying and brainwashing advertising.

The worst of all is, we are constantly creating new ways to become less social. Facebook, Myspace, Bebo - all networks that allow us to talk to each other without shaking each others hand in the physical form. We are creating ways to become more isolated and distant from each other.

Is technology ruining society?

King Felix

Deus Ex Machina wrote: »

Hmmm...how are you defining chaos in this instance?

I'll define it as a return to pre-information age relations between the various groupings of humanity.

tvnutz

Technology has ruined the challenge of looking at porn when you are a teenager, which was a major part of it. I remember back when I was 13 getting hold of a playboy and thinking this was bloody amazing. Or having a friend who had an older brother who had a bit of a collection of really old porn movies,which were actually really soft core but by God did we think they are amazing.

Now it is no feckin challange at all. So yes,technology has ruined the thrill of looking at naked women when you are a teen and therefore has ruined society!

CrazyRabbit

I'm in work.
I'm sitting on a bench in the back courtyard of the building.
I'm connected via wireless to the company's network.
I've just finished a conference called via VOIP.

I couldn't have done that years ago....so Thank You technology!!!

Deus Ex Machina

King Felix wrote: »

I'll define it as a return to pre-information age relations between the various groupings of humanity.

Yes I see, but in what sense is it chaotic? What I am driving at is the difference between the colloquial understanding of the word and the strict mathematical definition.

Copper23

Social sites can be great. I've done tons of travel and mets tons of people over the past few years. I'm pretty sure I'd never have gotten all their numbers and called people around the world every week to stay in touch.

But now I can chat away on Facebook when i see them online. It's good. People always complain, it's a good thing.

Some people use technology for crap but thats their choice. I know one person who is boring as sin in person but likes to gossip a lot. Spends a lot of time on these sites seeing what people are doing and is always the first to "like" or post some meaningless comment to everyone.

If people wanna do that then it's fine. technology is great, there's a world to see too though.

MetzgerMeister

trebor28 wrote: »

when you really think about it the smarter the human brain gets the lazier it gets!
everything in life is designed to make our time doing something shorter!
the bicycle was invented cause it was faster than walking, then the car was invented cause it was faster than cycling, the aeroplane was ....

who knows where or in what state we will end up in.

Why was running invented???

King Felix

Deus Ex Machina wrote: »

Yes I see, but in what sense is it chaotic? What I am driving at is the difference between the colloquial understanding of the word and the strict mathematical definition.

I meant in terms of socio-thermodynamics. It's theoretical as opposed to hard science.

Mr Benevolent

Three things:

1. I don't watch TV.
2. I use AdBlocker.
3. Bliss.

Herb Powell

Life is what you make it, foo'
It's harder to go out, sure, but faaaaaaaaar more rewarding

jonesyr

THE PARADOX OF OUR AGE


We have bigger houses but smaller families;
more conveniences, but less time;
We have more degrees, but less sense;
more knowledge, but less judgement;
more experts, but more problems;
more medicines, but less healthiness;
We've been all the way to the moon and back,
but have trouble crossing the street to meet
the new neighbor.
We build more computers to hold more
information to produce more copies then ever,
but have less communication;
We have become long on quantity,
but short on quality.
These are times of fast foods
but slow digestion;
Tall men but short character;
Steep profits but shallow relationships.
It's a time when there is much in the window,
but nothing in the room.

The 14th Dalai Lama

mikom

jonesyr wrote: »

THE PARADOX OF OUR AGE


We have bigger houses but smaller families;
more conveniences, but less time;
We have more degrees, but less sense;
more knowledge, but less judgement;
more experts, but more problems;
more medicines, but less healthiness;
We've been all the way to the moon and back,
but have trouble crossing the street to meet
the new neighbor.
We build more computers to hold more
information to produce more copies then ever,
but have less communication;
We have become long on quantity,
but short on quality.
These are times of fast foods
but slow digestion;
Tall men but short character;
Steep profits but shallow relationships.
It's a time when there is much in the window,
but nothing in the room.

The 14th Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama?

*makes fart noise with mouth*

The Paradox is it was actually written by Dr. Bob Moorehead, and it's a lot longer than that.

jonesyr

dam didnt know that, looked it up, some people still day the dali guy wrote it! and others say that mooreland guy, hope not as some website was saying he is a sex offender!


dam wish I hadnt posted that here now, ignorance is bliss.

**** you.

mikom

jonesyr wrote: »

**** you.

Thanks.

topper75

Philosophy time!

Where is all this technology going to anyway? No inventor seems to question that. Individually they create something that reduces the need to do something else e.g. dishwasher means no need to wash dishes at sink, elearning means no need to attend a classroom.

Humans get excited by that prospect and buy the product. But there is no collective questioning of where is this all going? Is it the removal of labour completely from life. Is it making more time to do other things?

Ipods advance by creating more space for quantity and TV satellite boxes advance on the same terms. Quality isn't a priority for technology, except in terms of trying to get the virtual to approximate the real (chatting on facebook, higher audio bit rates). Why not just opt for the real to begin with?

I can't help thinking of the parable of the Mexican fisherman. Maybe we are "already there" and technological advances are only ultimately bringing us around in a circle.