Thesis: We are getting too dependent on the computers for the simplest everyday tasks and disregarding our mental abilities.
This is, truly, a digital era, where almost everything is done pressing the buttons of a computerized electronic device; or, in a crescent newest look, just touching the monitor. The internet, all the information it contains and every possible software program and/or application are designed for any requirement or wish that one has in everyday life. People can be seen everywhere with their eyes on a screen and this is considered, today, the daily normal routine and it is not odd at all.
But as in many other cases, as being that tend to over-accommodate to their state, humans are forgetting about their abilities to function without these electronic and sophisticated gadgets. As said by Vickyl, “our ability to think individually is definitely being diminished”, because the overwhelming amount of information that is immediately accessible takes away any effort to rationalize/think about any situation or process that one may be faced with.
For example, the simple task of giving the change back to the buyer that just acquired something does not imply any more addition or subtraction or any other mathematical operations made by one’s brain. Today, there are few people able to do math operations mentally, because there are calculators integrated on computer programs that operate the register machine that automatically tell what needs to be known: “It is a matter of passing the goods in front of the bar code reader, pressing a button for the total and then another button to know how much the customer owes and again to know how much change to give.” (Vickyl 2013)
Of course, this matter also brings out some opposite opinions and facts. It is not possible to disregard the fact that, even one being possibly too dependent on the computers, it is also true that all the development that has been made in this area is what enables today’s evolution in society, economics and companies. The fast trade of information that computers allow these days is essential/crucial for the fast and ready function of all areas of a society: services, information, publicity, product distribution, companies’ contacts, etc., which allows different countries to be in contact and trading such good and services in a rate that could not be possible otherwise. So, one cannot just label such matter on today’s dependence on computers as intrinsically bad.
As in many aspects, however, this use of such a vast net of information available must be done with conscience and should also be guided by those who are more aware and experienced on such situations. For example, a student that needs to do a certain paper for school purposes, which has as an objective to allow the student to learn about a certain subject or topic, should be guided by someone (tutored) so that he/she can also learn how to research and construct the paper with gathered information that is also read and analyzed; instead of just letting the students copy and paste information directly, they should be counseled and corrected when such plagiarisms happen, in order them to learn how to use such vast field of information correctly, in a collaboration relation, once more, with one’s mental and intellectual abilities.
Thus, in conclusion, the dependence on computers is not a bad situation per se, as long as it can be kept without compromise of one’s abilities to analyze and process the information. This way, situations like relying on computers to do simple math operations and not be trained for such as well, or in students’ paper plagiarism using internet information should be corrected and supervised, in order for the computerized technology to be used in a balanced way.
Reference
Vickyl. “Are We Too Dependent on Technology?”. News 24 Breaking News First, 21st January 2013. Web. 18th March 2013.
