Open Debate. Is technology...

[Orlanth]

Open Debate. Is technology good or bad?

My parnets tell me of the times when they were children how they had it better. They had a greater imagination, were alot more healthy then children today.
I mean like kids runned around, played all typoe of games. But today, one a kid finds a sonyplaystation, they sit there for hours playing it.
I know better then any one that spending to much time in front of a comput screen or TV screen is bad for your eyes. I know because for the last 12 years I have been sitting in front of a computer, spending hours, after hours using it. And my eyes are ruined, and get worse all the time.

There is alot of other things, computers, guns, light, etc etc. But, I go into everything, I want all you guys and gals to debate this.

In my opinnion, human and technology is the thing which will kill the human kind.

(Sorry about spelling and gramma. I was very tired when I posted the above post)

 

[p_p_man]

Like all things...

too much of anything is bad for you, even sex...

I assume when you say technology you're talking about computers. Not the vast amount of other definitions that technology has.

They once said the advent of computers would cause massive job losses. What they didn't foresee was the massive job gains computers bring, not only within the industry but in peripheral businesses as well, and the shift of the workforce from one type of industry to another.

They once said that computers would make it easier for kids to learn. That education by the human tutor would be a thing of the past. What they didn't foresee was that kids don't want to learn. They're quite happy to sit there and play games.

They once said that it was a young persons' world and that computers are beyond the comprehension of anyone over 40. What they didn't foresee was that it's the over 40s who utilise computer technology to its full potential. At work they're used to using e-mails, word processors, spreadsheets, accounts packages, faxes, data bases and accessing other web sites. That knowledge they have now embraced into their private lives. It's the over 40s who do the on-line purchasing. The youngsters download the music.

They once said that computers would expand everyone's horizons. What they didn't foresee is that horizons can only be expanded if you want them to be.

Yes of course, when I was a kid, we were out all day long during the long summer vacation from school, barely remembering to go home and eat! But child molesters didn't seem to be around so much (I'm sure they were but they didn't attract the publicity as they do today), traffic wasn't so dense, it was actually safe enough to ride our bikes on the highway! And of course we knew no different. If we had computers we too would probably have spent too much time on them and be subsequently that much poorer in health.

Good or bad? I don't know. I do know you can't make a comparison with something that wasn't around then to something that is around now.

Anyway it's early days yet. Ask me in another twenty years time!

 

[Orlanth]

I meant technology as is in technology. Computers, TV, Steros, Cars, Lights, Flight, etc, etc.

 

[p_p_man]

I meant technology as is in technology. Computers, TV, Steros, Cars, Lights, Flight, etc, etc.

Oh! In that case it's a good thing...

 

[Orlanth]

One thing you forgot p_p_man was porn.

When I was a kid, before computers, (I am young, ok, around the age of Renny Poo) I never even saw a naked body but my own. I only started to learn about sex when they start to teach it at school or by asking your paranets. It was hardly posible to get your dad's porno mags, because he would have been able to hide them, put them far out of your reach.
But with computers, the age group is from a very early age of 3 up to the age of well over 70, I am sure. There is a higher % now of children learning about sex far before they start their change into adulthood.
Because 5 year olds can find porn on the Internet easy, you get alot of problems. #1, child behavue: wanting to get more, and willing to do anything to do so. #2, rape: learning of sex before the brain can muture and accept emotions can be dangeroues. There is for much more things which can go wrong from that.

Anther problem with the Internet and Computers is Hacking.

Gaining accues to others computers going through personal things, destroy many hours of hard work. Even finding out phonenumbers and/or home addres - inhance 'Internet Killers' people who find out about you, and kill you. Not only hacking will be the reason. But giving people this information - Not every one is going to be so stupid - children, thinking this person is a friend, gives them the information, with out even knowing of what could happen.

Viruses

I don't have to go into much detail with this one, as I am pretty sure you all know of the large amount of money which can be wasted, and the hours and hours, days and days, weeks and weeks of hard work can be ruined by a simple little computer vires.
It is amasing really, how easy it is to cost millions of dollers worth f damege with a click of a button. When I was in high school, I had everything set so I cxould bring the education deportment of Australia to its knees, costing them millions of dollers. Thank god I didn't do it. But not every one is like me. Most teenagers in school hate it, and don't want to be there, and because they have no idea of the consucranstions (spelling sucks, I know) they will act on it, and do the damage.

Teachers are not as smart as they think. just because they are adults, they think they can tell children what to do, and expect them to listen. But children being children do not listen, and won't do as tolled.
Take a teacher, an administrator of a NT based computer network over the school. He logs in as administrator to do some work, a kid asks for help and they teacher goes over to help the child. Another kid can then (because the teacher didn't log out) can go in, and change passwords and such, change user rights (which is alot easyer with Windows 2000/NT 5)
I assume you can use your imagination to know what can happen. There is alot of down falls as well as good things about computers.


(Sorry about spelling and gramma. I was very tired when I posted the above post)

 

[Closet Desire]

Same play...

...different actors.

This rerun is going into its 10,000th year--I hope someone is getting royalties.

Whether you're talking about technology or why we put whipping cream on pumpkin pie (after all, you could eat pumpkin straight from the garden) what you see before you is the result of an innate drive by humanity towards some distant, ethereal goal.

Transatlantic flight didn't come into being because some mad scientist thought it was a good idea but because ordinary people wanted to travel--and it was safer than the KonTiki.

Last night I watched a show about chimpanzees making and using tools with precise purpose and forethought. The goal obviously being to make feeding more efficient and less effort. One species has become so successful at gathering food (walking upright, by the way, because they could carry more food back to the group) that they now have time for "socialising" and, get this, recreational sex (face-to-face no less).

I'm sure there are some old silverbacks shaking their heads and tutting "this will lead us to no good."

 

[Doulton]

I think people use technology as a scape goat. Most of the negative effects of technology come from the way people use them, but instead of addressing that, they just blame the technology itself. Kind of like blaming a chair for not being comfortable enough if you ask me.
Sure, some aspects of technology will lead to seemingly inevitable side-effects, but people easily overlook the advantages I think. When dreaming of a technology free world like it was in the good-old-days, people generally leave out the facts about decreased health and life expectancy. And don't forget the ignorance. Who can forget the Catholic church persecuting Galileo for saying the Earth wasn't the centre of the universe and keeping him under house arrest until he died? But they did have the decency to forgive him, long afterwards.
Basically, I don't think the world was all that shit-hot without technology. It saves lives and brings us information. The negative effects should be pinned on the ways people use it and their attitudes towards it.

PS it was very restrained of me to write so little

(I wrote this while there were only two replies, so I didn't see most of what was written before this.)

 

[Valdimer]

There is no real right or wrong answer to this.......and that is why they call them opinions.....ahh, the free world...

Anyways, I shall express mine, then leave you all to do what you usually do....

Technology is neither good nor bad, its a little of both. Without it, where would the world be today? Right with the Amish. We need it, we thrive on it, we have to have it. Without technology, the world wouldnt survive. Yes, sounds bad, I know, but here me out.....We rely to much on technology, we use it as a crutch, and now, that crutch has become a permenant part of our society.

But, the good thing is, we have wonderful television programs, the invention of the DVD player, and great porn on the internet.

And hey, without this disease we call technology, neither you, or I, would not have met such wonderful people over that little computer screen you stare at everyday.

So, love it, or hate it, it's here. We live with it everyday, and take it for granted on a daily basis.

Thank you..... *steps down from podium*

 

[Always]

All things in moderation - including internet and Lit. If you don't go overboard and keep a healthy balance of technology (mind), physical activities (body), and some sort of spiritual fulfilment (heart/soul/emotion), you will be just fuckin' fine.

 

[Guest]

 

[Harbinger]

The archetypal symbol for technology is the Knife; i.e. using tools to manipulate our environment. For some people a knife is a weapon, which is the destructive side of it, but it is also useful as a tool. I would rather slice my tomato than rip it apart with my hands. I can use tools to make shelter, clothing, or other more sophisticated tools. But like the knife, the destructive side of technology is always potentially present. It all comes down to understanding it and using or not using it responsibly.

 

[Closet Desire]

One writer...

...to another.

They said the same thing about copy machines and free libraries. Take some comfort in knowing that the people who would copy your book/story or download it wouldn't have bought it in the first place. (I know--it still really pisses you off when it happens).

 

[rambling man]

Technology is great because of the ease that it brings to doing different things. I have no idea how long it would have taken to type, retype and retype my thesis in the typewriter days...

As far as TV, playstation, etc is concerned, they all have a fabulous feature for parents concerned about kids spending time on them. The off switch is guaranteed to end the child's game and force them to do something else. Frequently I put away my child's and tell them they do not get it back until they read a book, then explain the book to me to my satisfaction. My child also is never and will never be allowed to have internet access in their room. If it cannot be seen by the whole family in the living room, they really have no business doing it or seeing it anyway.

Technology can also be irritating or dangerous. Once a week I almost die because some idiot concentrates more on their car phone than what they are doing. Every movie I have seen for the past six months has been interrupted by a stupid electronic jingle and "Helloooooooo!!!!!!!!" Same with dining out at a nice restaraunt.

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

There is alot of other things. But, I want all you guys to debate this. n my opinnion, human and technology is the thing which will kioll the human kind. Therefore it is bad.

Forgive me for this, but, just how old are you? Your post is very thoughtful, but it sounds like it was written by a 13 year old. I apologize in advance if you're 25 or something. Maybe it's just lack of writing skills. But you do sound awfully, awfully young.

Technology, like a gun, is neither good nor bad, it's a tool. What you're really asking is not whether or not technolgy is going to "kill the human kind", but whether it is in man's nature to fullfil every potential he has, including self destruction.

I would argue that the only reason we have so many people in the first place to destroy with technology is because of technology (and, forgive me again, but you cannot limit your definition of "technology" to just stuff you can buy at Circuit City, because if you do then this becomes a thread about how much time we waste pushing pretty buttons). Three are 5 billion people on the planet instead of 100 million because of science.

Now THAT'S a more interesting question. Is it a good thing that we've made it so easy for so many humans to exist on earth? A friend of mine wrote an interesting play about a person who discovers a universal vaccine against all disease, and a fellow scientist plans to kill him because he imagines a nightmare future where the planet is choking with healthy people who are not dying off.

 

[sister_licker]

In my opinion, the effects of technology are dependant on how you use it. For example: depression.

I was a victim of depression from the age of 14 to 23 (I'm now 24 and am pretty much happy now, although every now and then I do slip back). When I first gained access to the Internet, the first thing I looked for was information or support groups for depression. I found the newsgroup alt.support.depression. Now bearing in mind that at that time I had no friends (absolutley NONE - long story, don't ask!), it was something of a relief to be able to talk to people who understood *exactly* what I was feeling. I became friendly with many people there, and from time to time I was given very good advice on how to deal with my problems (mainly social problems). In this way, I eventually became able to overcome my problems. So looking at it like that, technology is good. Without it I probably would have killed myself long ago.

But on the other hand, I think there is a danger of becomming dependant on technology. Like, if I had chosen to stay on the newsgroup and not go out and try to rebuild my life, I would have ended up *expecting* to spend every day on the internet, not interacting with people in the real world. Maybe I haven't explained this well enough, but I think addiction to the Internet can be a very bad (and easy) thing to get into.

 

[rambling man]

Dixon makes a really good point. I think a long time ago some people really got their hackles up because I said AIDS was a natural predator and nature's way of thinning out the population. After all, it does seem to strike hardest the countries with the worst population problems, such as countries in Africa and now China. If not AIDS, then nature will give us something deadlier.

Nature always seeks a balance..it will allow overpopulation for a time but it always enforces equilibrium. The more deadly diseases we cure, the worse the next one wil be.

I believe these things, but I also hope and pray for cures for diseases like AIDS and hope we can end suffering from disease. If we could possibly transform Venus or Mars into a suitable place to live that would help for a few centuries anyway (since population growth unrestrained will grow exponentially)

 

[Mr. Bootie]

I don't know if it's good or bad. I will say this.......

It's good for people that are in my business. I'm a Personal Trainer. Because of the rise in technology, many people are not living sedentary lives. Not moving around much. More people are behind computer screens and not outdoors. Americans are more out of shape now, then ever before. Their are even more overweight teenagers now than ever before. Preferring to play video games, or going online, than to participate in organized sports. This is very sad in my opinion, but good for my Profession. For if there was not a NEED for Personal Trainers, I'd have to find a new career. I actually enjoy working people out.

In closing, is technology good....or bad ?............. I don't know, All I know is that it sure has made us lazy. Not to offend anyone. Does anyone agree??????

kgboot

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

Disagree. People weren't exercising more before TV, they were spending hours every day ironing and washing and eating adulterated food full of arsenic, plaster and feces. Have you SEEN photos of people 100 years ago? They were short, very fat, and lived a good 15 years less than we do. Technology has made us healthier, brighter -- and deadlier.

 

[cymbidia]

Neither. Technology just is.

In my opinion, technology - and all advances in technology - is neither good nor bad.

The uses to which we put various kinds of technology, i.e., weapons, are sometimes described as having one or more of those emotive qualities. The technological advances that lead to new and better and improved products, however, is a sort of absolute value as far as being "good" or "bad", per se.

I see our push to create new technologies and to develop more and different products from existing technologies as part and parcel of our being human.

For as long as humans have been humans (a subject open to debate in another thread, please), we've been testing, questing, creating, and inventing. We're a species that is not, and will never be, content with lying about listlessly and letting the world go on past us.

We're an active, intelligent, seeking, emotional species, and sometimes we burn our own toes while inventing that new kinda black powder, yes. However, the human need to discover something new will likely always be a part of who we are as a species, whether it be the identification of new planets that circle distant stars, or a never-before-described species of deep-ocean mussel, or a brand new way to access music via one's PC.

We're drawn to new stuff.

Technological advances will always be part and parcel of who we are, just as they've been smoothing our way on this planet for the last handful of millions of years.

Technology isn't good or bad but it is here to stay.

 

[Orlanth]

Dixon Carter Lee, I'm not 13, I am 20. I just suck at spelling and typing. I also forget to spell check my post before I posted it. Sorry everyone.

(Happy now, Dixon? )

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

I forgive you everything, except the "y'all". LOL

 

[Orlanth]

I forgive you everything, except the "y'all". LOL

Fine then, I'll go back and fix it, just for you Dixon

 

[Orlanth]

I don't know who is worse. Dixon or DarlingBri, they both pick apart my spelling and gramma.
Well at least you make it seem funny, Dixon, I'll give you that.

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

I would never pick apart your Gramma. I'm sure she has enough trouble with all them young'uns runnin' around and the Revenooers shootin' up the still and all.

(Your spelling is fine. LOL. It's the tone and approach that I was commenting on. Nothing bad, I just want to make sure I'm not talking to any kids on a sex board, that's all.)

 

[Orlanth]

I'm no kid. So Dixon, your safe.