As we got farther into the semester we all had to use our computers and the internet more but we also had discussions that made me feel stronger about technology being some kind of monster and today we continued with the comparison to drugs. When people think of drugs and addicts their minds immediately go to a negative image, even people who are doing drugs know it's something bad even if they're in denial of it. But, when technology is brought up not many people jump to this same type of negative opinion even though technology has the potential to be just as dangerous.
True, technology isn't as bad for our health or lives as drugs are in the immediate but in the big scope of things, it's much more of an issue. For the most part drugs are just as dangerous as they've always been, the amount of use among the population may change over the years but in my mind I still see it as each person has the same option as people in the past or future. We all know the risks of drugs and we've seen what they can do so if a person choses to do them, it's their fault. With technology, it's grown and is still growing at a rapid rate. We can't know how dangerous it will become and we aren't really choosing for it to be a part of our lives. Especially after being a part of the Queen City Jazz discussion group I believe it really isn't possible for us to avoid technology and even if we tried, we're compromising so much more of our lives just for that. Also, we aren't the creators of technology so when something new comes out and we haven't seen it used yet and we don't know how it works we have no clue what kind of consequences there may be. When a drug dealer sells drugs they put it in the hands of whoever buys it, and that's the end of it. The people who create our computers, cell phones, and mp3 players are always adding to them and coming out with new things for them or new versions.
Also, we talked about this idea of being human billboards. What would it be like if we could just sell our arm or forehead to some company for advertisement? We talk about it being so ridiculous but think about how many people would actually do that? Our society has become so lazy and we so easily give into the ridiculousness of what these consumers try to feed us. But, even the people who find it ridiculous give into it to a certain extent. I'm from Hawaii and I find beauty in simplicity, I love nothing more than just sitting on the beach enjoying nature. But, when I'm in a place like Las Vegas and there are billboards after billboards on the sides of every road, I think it's so obnoxious but as I drive by I still read them and even if I don't take the next exit to eat at the world's greatest buffet that image and information has been planted into my head and the next time I'm driving around wanting to go somewhere to eat or someone asks me about it, that will end up being on my list of ideas.
We can't escape these things like technology or commercialism. Even if you try to avoid using new technology as much as possible, your entire life will revolve around the fact that you're trying to avoid it. And if you buy a plain shirt without a brand name on it, you're still showing it off and when someone asks about it, you tell them where it came from and you become a live commercial for it.
