Technophobes

Technophobia is the fear of the advancement of technology. With that being said, I think that people who assume that the Internet will cause damage in younger people's lives are technophobes. They do not see the advancement of technology in a positive light but rather in a dark and depressing light. Technophobes believe that our world as we know it will end if the computers take over.

Nicholas Carr is a part-technophobe, for he uses the Internet on a daily basis, but he does not agree with the advancement of it. This is a hypocritical statement. While he can spend all day at a computer browsing the Internet, he writes an article that is about the dangers of staying on the Internet all day. Carr states that people will become "machine-like" in the future, and that readers now form a sort of reading technique where they skim for the most important information. While this is true in most cases, I do not think the Internet is fully to blame for skimming. I recall that in third grade before I was even allowed on the Internet, I was taught "skimming" in my library class. We were taught to pick out the best information, and move along. Therefore, the Internet is not solely to blame for the new technique.

Although I disagree with much that Nicholas Carr writes, I fully endorse his final conclusion that the Internet does cause people's attentions to become scattered. The Internet offers many options to the point where most are dumbfounded at what to look at first. To compromise, they look at more than one thing at once, and now they cannot focus solely on their one task. This creates a problem for sticking to one task and doing it well. The Internet causes people's focuses to shift.

While Carr is a part-technophobe, Jamais Cascio supports the advances of technology. Cascio believes that an Internet revolution is inevitable where our thoughts are controlled by computer chips or the "Singularity" hypothesis will hold true. Cascio does not fear the advancement of technology, but instead encourages people to adapt and take what they can get from the new technology. I agree with that because my experience as a child growing up with a computer confirms it. My family got a computer when I was two. My mom did not know how to use it while I grew accustomed to it by age six. I could play games on it all day. Towards the end of elementary school, I was an expert on Google, and my mom could type without having to ask herself where certain keys were. All technology takes is adaption. One has to adapt to their environment and make a change in order to succeed. Cascio also uses analogies such as the Ice Age or the Mount Tobia incident where people had to learn to adapt to their new lives. Technophobes need to learn to adapt to technology because it has become a part of every one's daily lives. Technology is not scary. It gives people a chance to learn things quicker and easier than before. Cascio used hypothetical situations for the future that did not seem daunting because he explained that some people in the future will be accustomed to the new technology just like some are now.

While some argue that the Internet harms people's reading skills or shifts their focus, the Internet is much more than a negative force. It is now quicker and easier to stay in contact with people you wouldn't normally talk to or learn about world events only seconds after they happen. It's not scary but invigorating, and people need to learn to cherish the fact that although tradition is coming to an end, soon enough, this technology will be just as much a tradition.