Research Paper On The Shallows
Bright screens with backlighting, noisy keyboards, quiet touch pads, swiping to turn the page, all great examples of futuristic technologies; books were at one point a futuristic technology, but now they're a thing of the past. What happened? Swiping became easier than turning; backlighting in screens became easier than managing a book light; typing became easier than written annotations. In Alan Carr's novel, The Shallows (2011), he writes, "The price we pay to assume technology's power is alienation," (Carr 211). What Carr doesn’t mention is the high taxes we pay in addition to the price of alienation. While it is true that technology is the key to success for many, it may also be the key to failure. Technology is not worth the price of alienation.
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When asked asked what the benefits and drawbacks of new technologies were Gardner responded, “...the Internet has certainly contributed to the broadening of acceptable identities in today’s young people,” Gardner continues stating examples, such as being a geek or openly gay, that are now considered to be socially acceptable. Gardner explains that with the use of new technologies teens are encountering more diversity; cultural, religious, and general diversity “reinforce the acceptance of difference.” What Gardner did not include was that while it opened up acceptance horizons, it also opened shunning horizons, more so bullying horizons, because with the acceptance individuals became more open about themselves, and so did the people who did not agree with them. Everyday someone is shunned for being who they are, with advancements in social networking somebody in the United Kingdom could tell another in the United States that they are an abomination, what they’re doing or how they’re living their life is wrong, being themself is wrong. So, has technology really opened acceptance, or has it given a false hope, a facade, of acceptance to cover up the new form of intolerance; the only difference now is you’re being judged by somebody who doesn’t know you, a face you’ll never see, a voice you’ll never hear, a text box you’ll never forget. Technology is just a new
When asked asked what the benefits and drawbacks of new technologies were Gardner responded, “...the Internet has certainly contributed to the broadening of acceptable identities in today’s young people,” Gardner continues stating examples, such as being a geek or openly gay, that are now considered to be socially acceptable. Gardner explains that with the use of new technologies teens are encountering more diversity; cultural, religious, and general diversity “reinforce the acceptance of difference.” What Gardner did not include was that while it opened up acceptance horizons, it also opened shunning horizons, more so bullying horizons, because with the acceptance individuals became more open about themselves, and so did the people who did not agree with them. Everyday someone is shunned for being who they are, with advancements in social networking somebody in the United Kingdom could tell another in the United States that they are an abomination, what they’re doing or how they’re living their life is wrong, being themself is wrong. So, has technology really opened acceptance, or has it given a false hope, a facade, of acceptance to cover up the new form of intolerance; the only difference now is you’re being judged by somebody who doesn’t know you, a face you’ll never see, a voice you’ll never hear, a text box you’ll never forget. Technology is just a new