Perception Is Reality

I was on Ayeshah’s blog where she posted the following video:

A Vision of Students Today

 It is indeed something to think about.

Too Much Information

As the video tells us, we ‘browse’ through so much information, it is almost impossible to keep up. So much information is created, modified, deleted or becomes obsolete everyday, that to keep up with it, we need to multi-task and, ofcourse, need more time. It is legitimate a thought that all this information can break us down, restricting us from thinking logically. Is all the information relevant? Is any of it relevant? Is any of it true? Define truth.

Problems Created By Technology

Here’s what I think: In a world where time has become money, in turn leading us to need more time, there is an element of technological determinism: but it is a reinforcing spiral. We want faster machines. We need to multitask (something only machines would do at one point). Have we become machines? We sleep lesser hours, work more, spend less time with family, more time studying, less time eating and more and more time keeping up. We have in a way, rescheduled our priorities due to technology, as a result, technology adapts, and as a result, we adapt. I hope this point is clear. If it’s not, think about it. Or ask.

The Good of Technology

What good comes of technology? Better learning environments, living conditions, better utilization of time and new jobs. There was once a misconception about digital technological gadgetry replacing the human labour force. Fortunately for us, these gadgets still need a human to operate, to make choices which are not defined in the preset scenario banks. New ways of looking at things: at society, at the world, at the pace at which it grows, and for that matter, the pace at which it thinks. Technology has enabled us to think at deeper intellectual levels about things like life, duties, priorities, and even mutually assured destruction.

Technology Can Save Us

Can technology save us? Or have we/are we becoming pawns of these technological instruments. With the advanced equipment used in homes, offices and classrooms, you’d think we would benefit more. Why then, with so much effort being put into making these aspects of life interesting, do we Facebook more, chat more, and for that matter, blog more? Who are we? Do we need to be saved?

What was missing in a previous technology, such as the chalkboard was that you could not show videos and photographs. With a combination of digital tools, we can now enhance the learning, working and living experience.

Can technology save us? Do we need to be saved?
Or is technology fooling us? Dumbing us down?

These are important questions to think about and the reactions will inevitably vary from continent to continent, country to country, region to region, even people to people. What is more important though, is that we ask these questions. We need to stop and ask ourselves (and others): “What is going on?” Do we need all of this?

Who Are You Amidst All Of This?