As I've thought about what exactly "defines" a human, I've found that being considered part of humanity relies heavily on the time period that one is part of. It seems obvious to state that technology has become intertwined with every facet of life--ranging from social interactions to business relations. Humans connect with each other, both in person but also within a web of communication that isn't visible or tangible. Technology allows humans to become multitasking efficient beings who maintain multiple social levels and seem to grow more complex as technology progresses.
Is being made up of cells, DNA, and capable of higher level processing enough to classify what it means to be a human? Or has our ability to progress and create made our fundamental definition of self more complex and dependent on our technology? If we were to eliminate all of our technological innovations tomorrow, would we know how to continue on as humans? Or have we grown dependent on our social gimmick that it would be too drastic of an immediate change to continue as the humans we have become as an adaptive response to our our creations?
So while thinking of this notion of what it means to be a human while in the midst of this technological merging, I came across a youtube video that deals with what the college system "lacks" in this modern age. Essentially it begins by noting that the average college student spends more time in virtual realms--social media, staring at TV screens, battling others in video games--than opening a book and gaining their knowledge through that type of source. The students are asking for a change… to incorporate our technology into a college curriculum. Although this is an interesting notion in itself, I found it more fascinating that these students. that are just as much similar to me at my point in my life, need to utilize technological resources to feel that they can excel in their academic endeavors.
Humans' mindset has change. It seems that although we continuously create more and more, we also have lost our human roots; we do not know how to be a human without our machines.
Our machines have become our clutches, from what we have learnt we need something to protect us from actually facing the real world. Our world today is so dependent on our machines as we are obsessed with continuously never missing a beat, some knowledge that will affect us in the long run.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Rousseau’s Social Contract, our natural state of existence is stripping us down to our most primitive form. He argues that “man is born free, and everywhere else is he in chains”. The chains in this circumstance are our pieces of technology, our iPhones, our MacBook’s. All of which are status pieces, look at what I have, clearly I am hip. In circumstances that college students are in, we strive to be different, but at the same time that brings us even closer to being the same. We think that if we completely do a 360 and copy everyone else do we seem different, when the opposite is actually the case. By doing this we simply make ourselves as uniform as another.
As we are so dependent on our machines, we have lost touch on how to interact naturally; we have developed what some may call, “awkwardness” which in terms has made us less likely to develop our social skills. Along with this awkwardness we also cling to our phones and laptops in times of desperation, perhaps we are searching for somewhere to vent, something to make us feel secure. In addition to security, there also is a popularity aspect to it all, who is texting me, making me feel important etc.
Our machines make us feel a certain security that perhaps others (humans) cannot. We feel as if we can leave situations because we have a phone with others on it to tell us where else to go. If we feel alone we can always pick up the phone and call someone, instantly feeling better. In a way, the machines have replaced human contact; we don’t even need to rely on face-to-face communication, as we know people are just one tap away