Technology Creating a Better World? Advancements in technology are supposed to make our lives easier. The time it takes for us to travel to another destination continues to shorten. Computers continue to advance at a rapid pace. Communicating with family and friends from another country has become easier than ever. It would seem as if everything is perfect. However, that is not the case at all. The irony of it all is that inventions that were supposed to make us connected to people close to us have actually had the opposite effect. Devices such as mobile phones, tablets, television, and laptops are just a few inventions that have us obsessed over them during our free time. With the advent of social media, we have become more engrossed in
Wallis says the need for people to multi-task has reached new heights. She states “…the phenomenon has reached a kind of warp speed in the era of web-enabled computers, when it has become routine to conduct six IM conversations, watch American Idol on TV and Google the names of last season’s finalist all at once” (Wallis 12). People no longer have the patience to concentrate and focus on one thing at a time. While there are definitely similarities in the two essays, the differences are apparent as well. First of all, the tone used in each essay is different. The tone that Turkle uses lacks the sense of urgency that Wallis’ essay has. Turkle does not delve deeper into the physiological effects multitasking can have on people. Instead, she explains the main reason people yearn to be connected is because we do not want to be lonely. People are more afraid than even of being alone in this world. It is this fear that drives us to constantly reach for our phones or computers. This is definitely a contrast to the style Wallis used. The tone used in Wallis’ essay is of a dire and more serious one. She not only explains the causes for the constant need to multitask and staying connected, but the effects of these behaviors. The implications of multitasking at a young age could hinder not only the social growth of a person, but the physiological growth of the person as well. Constant multitasking can actually make a