Author: Essay by Tony Washington – January 23rd 2012. This was a fun essay to write since I was not being graded on how well I could write 🙂

Computer Technology in Our Future – 2012

When thinking about the way we use computers every day, it is hard to imagine life without them. From sunrise to sundown, computers find their way into our lives whether we realize it or not. There are people who believe there is no downside to the role technology plays in modern day society. Individuals are becoming entirely dependent upon computer technology, thus are failing to learn the skills needed to function without its assistance.

“No generation has yet lived from cradle to grave in the digital era,” say authors John Palfrey and Urs Gasser, in “Born Digital”. This book gives another look at technology in the eyes of the individual who has not only been surrounded by technology, but enveloped by it. They also bring to the point, “Digital Natives live much of their lives online, without distinguishing between the online and the offline” (Palfrey and Gasser 4).In this instance, “digital native” would be any individual who was “born after 1980” (Palfrey and Gasser 1). These individuals are typically completely comfortable with the computer technology that surrounds them in their daily lives.

One of the most ancient forms of communication known as hand writing is being replaced by typing. Even with the invention of the typewriter, it was still not uncommon to handwrite memos, letters, and academic papers. According to the Sue Loughlin from Tribune Star, “. . . the Indiana Department of Education will no longer require Indiana’s public schools to teach cursive writing,” which gives a quick insight at technology taking a precedence even in education. With the move away from writing in schools, educational institutions are promoting computer keyboarding and putting it on an “equal” playing field with hand writing.

“The constant use of digital technologies can place a strain on families, friendships, and classrooms,” (Palfrey and Gasser 186). Thinking of the shear amount of time we devote online interacting in some form digitally, you may find the majority of your day is consumed by it. Not to say this applies to everyone, but for most technology is becoming an increasingly important aspect as it touches all areas of our life and world. The downside to being digitally connected constantly is that we never get a real chance to go unconnected. Instead of waking up and stretching, you may wake up and check your cell phone first; digital technology is changing almost every part of our lives.

With technology rapidly expanding, even our navigation is evolving around us. Navigation of some sort has long been a part of nearly every day life for most. Navigation is important for everything including trade, farming, flight, and sailing. No less than 30 years ago, people were still using maps as a common way to navigate, which has been replaced with the Global Positioning System (GPS). Every occupation from the pilots, police, fire departments, emergency medical services, and more rely on some form of GPS in their day to day work. If one were to ever get lost 30 years ago, there may have been the handy road map in the glove compartment, but now is virtually always replaced by the GPS unit.

Information is a powerful tool, but too much of a good thing can spoil the goods quickly when used in excess. “The value of creativity, imagination and critical thinking over “information” access is self-evident,” says Andrew Orlowski of The Register. With so many users and governments undertaking information technology as a core utility for nearly all tasks, we undertake a risk of simply forgetting how we perform duties without them. Heavy use of technology from young users may create a “problem-solving deficit disorder” (Orlowski). Think of it as skipping a couple of grades due to your ability to research material on the internet, however once you get to the advanced grade level, you are unequipped with the tools necessary to succeed due to overuse of technology resources.

For the average person in the IT world, every colleague or friend they know probably has computer and internet access at their homes. With the ease of use to “instantly” retrieve information from search engines, such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing, is there a possibility that individuals are becoming more unwilling to find other resources that are not electronic? Speaking with a fellow student attending Edmonds Community College, “I don’t know what I would do without my computer and internet,” said John Brown in a personal interview. Before the dawn of the internet age, most people used services like 411, phonebooks, or even their neighbors to retrieve information quickly. Fast forward to 2012, and you will find most of these services becoming more “irrelevant” in people’s daily lives. Why take the effort to look through papers or asking a neighbor, when you can just “Google” it?

In a society that sees individuals becoming so entirely dependent on computer technology, they may find that some tasks aren’t so easily performed without the assistance of it by their side. The future of technology is all about how we choose to use, promote, and take advantage of this incredible resource. Deciding the future we give to the world and our loved ones is our decision to make. Caution must be observed as with everything, so that the rapidly evolving technology around us does not become our very own “Achilles” heel.

Household   Internet Usage In and Outside of the Home
Characteristics per 1,000 Households	In Home	Anywhere	No Internet Use
Households (Percentage)	71.06	80.23	19.77

(U.S. Department of Commerce)

Works Cited

Brown, John. Personal Interview on Computer Technology Tony Washington. 20 January 2012.

Loughlin, Sue. Archaic Method? Cursive writing no longer has to be taught. 3 July 2011. 1 January 2012 .

Orlowski, Andrew. How computers make kids dumb. 21 March 2005. 20 January 2012 .
Palfrey, John and Urs Gasser. Born Digital. New York: Basic Books, 2008.

U.S. Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration. “Digital Nation: Expanding Internet Usage.” Household Internet Usage In and Outside of the Home by Selected Characteristics: 2010. 2011.