Is technology hurting us more than it is helping us?

Advances in technology over the past thirty years have changed our world immensely. The processing of information by large search engine companies is truly astounding. We are the first generation to have access to boundless amounts of information at the tips of our fingers. This in turn has made us lazy. We find ourselves unmotivated when it comes to the simplest of tasks. We allow our smartphones to do all of the work for us. Our minds are also being effected by this. Our brains are adapting to technology and in turn, we find our levels of concentration devolving. As said by Psychology Today,

“Attention span refers to the amount of time we can focus on a task before we start to ‘zone out’. Although a distracting background or a really boring lecture/meeting can definitely make anyone’s attention span run thin, for some people focusing on even the simplest of tasks for a few moments can be torture.”

Technology has also stunted us when it comes to social interaction. More and more people are crippled by social anxiety every day because of social media. There are also illnesses related to the “fear of missing out”. “This trend is common in todays digital age, when often we are so busy creating a life that looks good on the outside rather than a life that feels good from the inside. Appearances can be deceiving and social media posts that we see can make others lives seem like a dream. Therefore adding to a sense of missing out on something.” It is also affecting how children develop. “A recent Stanford University study found that girls as young as eight who spend a lot of time multi-tasking on digital devices tend to have lower self-confidence and social skills.” Social media has helped the world in a variety of ways. It has helped people across the world connect, learn about different cultures, and it has helped people become more creative thinkers. The only issue is deciding whether or not to overlook the crippling effects it has on our psych.

Though technology has helped people become more open with their opinions and beliefs, it has also in a way made them become more introverted. Social media and major streaming companies such as Netflix and Hulu have recreated the term “loner”. People are becoming more and more obsessed with laziness and being alone. We torture ourselves with the fear that we are missing out, but in the end we would rather sit at home alone to binge watch every episode and every season of our favorite show.

We have learned to live our lives though our smartphones. In doing so we have created a generation of loners. There is literally an app for everything imaginable now. We also live our social life almost completely through the Internet. Social media has completely changed how we interact with friends, date, and even work. We substitute group hangouts with group chats. We have almost completely forgotten what a “real date” is. We have replaced what used to be a beautiful system into a tainted version of a relationship. The once coveted unity between a man and a woman has been shifted to a sleazy hangout where are you do is “Netflix and chill”. We can also work straight from our computers. This could cause us to become more introverted, allowing us to never have to strive for anything outside of our comfort zones. With the safety net that is our cell phone, the world outside continues to turn and as we sit inside in our own little comfortable made up reality. Eggers displays this when Mae becomes transparent and thinks only of her viewers and their interests. She is living her life but not as herself, but almost from an omniscient standpoint.

“In 2006, sociologists from the University of Arizona and Duke University sent out another distress signal — a study titled “Social Isolation in America.” In comparing the 1985 and 2004 responses to the General Social Survey, used to assess attitudes in the United States, they found that the average American’s support system — or the people he or she discussed important matters with — had shrunk by one-third and consisted primarily of family. This time, the Internet and cellphones were allegedly to blame.”

Though it is crippling us, technology is positively affecting our use of creativity. This generation of millennia’s is proving to be some of the most colorful minds the world has ever seen. We have created a multitude of search engines, charity organizations, social medias, and dating sites. Though these are proving to do harm, they also have positive effects. They connect people across the world with each other, inform us of worldly issues, and introduce us to cultures that we never dreamed of knowing. We may be more introverted than previous generations, but we are connecting the world around us in a way that has never been seen before.

The Circle is the perfect example of how technology is changing our world. In the book, Mae’s workplace is completely transforming the world around her. With different programs such as “SeeChange” which is a program where light portable cameras are worn by influential people such as politicians so that the public can see life through their eyes. Though this is the topic of much controversy between readers, it doesn’t stray far from what technological advancements are coming to in our day and time. Eggers may even be using SeeChange as a symbol for our current day drones. Drones, like SeeChange cameras, are a very popular topic of conversation because they threat people’s privacy. Drones can be seen as a way to “make new kinds of maps and maybe even deliver packages. A great deal of hope surrounds their potential economic value.” But drones, much like SeeChange, can become corrupt easily. To gain the public’s trust, they “should be as transparent as possible, not hidden behind corporate firewalls.” Both could have wonderfully positive effects on humanity, but at the same time they threat our natural yearning for privacy.

Egger does a flawless job of debating both sides of the argument of whether of not technology is changing us for the better. He also beautifully weaves in symbols for controversial topics today such as drones and how they are similar to the SeeChange cameras. The Circle displays our best sides of creativity, and how we are using it to unite the world around us. It also shows how we may be getting out of hand when it comes to invading our privacy and in Mercers case, attempting to destroy some of the most human qualities that we posses. The Circle also makes the reader reevaluate technology’s effect on the human mind. After all of the arguments are made we are forced to ask ourselves a question: is technology harming or hurting us? Do the benefits of technological advancements surpass the negative effects that it may have on human interaction?