Does Technology Give us a Less Stressful Life?
Essay prompt:
Technology promises to make our lives easier, freeing up time for leisure pursuits. But the rapid pace of technological innovation and the split second processing capabilities of computers that can work virtually nonstop have made all of us feel rushed. We have adopted the relentless pace of the very machines that were supposed to simplify our lives, with the result that, whether at work or play, people do not feel like their lives have changed for the better. —Adapted from Karen Finucan, “Life in the Fast Lane”
Question:
Do changes that make our lives easier not necessarily make them better?
My Thesis: Technology was supposed to make life easier; it was supposed to give us more leisure time for fun and socializing. Has it really done this?
Essay:
Does Technology Give us a Less Stressful Life?
Technological innovations were meant to free people up from mundane, time-consuming tasks like hunting, gathering or growing food, doing laundry, or traveling on foot or by horse and buggy. The time saved by the invention of grocery stores, washers and dryers, planes, trains and cars should have provided a family enough leisure time for rest and relaxation. What modern society shows us today is exactly the opposite of what these new inventions should have given us, a less stressful life.
Eating food and drinking clean water is a necessary part of normal human life. People cannot survive more than 7 days without water and typically no more than 3 months without food. Easily attainable and affordable food is a miracle of modern agriculture, a green revolution that freed the common man from a purely agrarian life dedicated to growing and harvesting enough food to feed one’s family or community. Fast food, a concept that took the world by storm has now fallen out of favor, being replaced by home-gardeners and a slow food movement that touts the benefits of personal gardens full of fresh, nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables versus the
Technology promises to make our lives easier, freeing up time for leisure pursuits. But the rapid pace of technological innovation and the split second processing capabilities of computers that can work virtually nonstop have made all of us feel rushed. We have adopted the relentless pace of the very machines that were supposed to simplify our lives, with the result that, whether at work or play, people do not feel like their lives have changed for the better. —Adapted from Karen Finucan, “Life in the Fast Lane”
Question:
Do changes that make our lives easier not necessarily make them better?
My Thesis: Technology was supposed to make life easier; it was supposed to give us more leisure time for fun and socializing. Has it really done this?
Essay:
Does Technology Give us a Less Stressful Life?
Technological innovations were meant to free people up from mundane, time-consuming tasks like hunting, gathering or growing food, doing laundry, or traveling on foot or by horse and buggy. The time saved by the invention of grocery stores, washers and dryers, planes, trains and cars should have provided a family enough leisure time for rest and relaxation. What modern society shows us today is exactly the opposite of what these new inventions should have given us, a less stressful life.
Eating food and drinking clean water is a necessary part of normal human life. People cannot survive more than 7 days without water and typically no more than 3 months without food. Easily attainable and affordable food is a miracle of modern agriculture, a green revolution that freed the common man from a purely agrarian life dedicated to growing and harvesting enough food to feed one’s family or community. Fast food, a concept that took the world by storm has now fallen out of favor, being replaced by home-gardeners and a slow food movement that touts the benefits of personal gardens full of fresh, nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables versus the