#5

How is technology affecting nature? Technology allows us to control our environment more efficiently. Which is good for humans, but sometimes not so good for mother earth. We’ve designed new ways to farm, but also giant new machines to perform mass logging projects. With the advancement of human achievement, we may not be paying enough attention to the way we are affecting the earth. There are still people that think that global climate change is a hoax, for God’s sake. Technology is changing how we’re treating the ill. There are more ways to help those dealing with different illnesses, such as deep brain stimulation technology. Technology also changes the way we study and protect our wildlife. We can track them and care for them more efficiently. How is technology affecting relationships? If you’re in a long distance relationship in the modern day world, chances are you live twenty four hours with your computer or mobile device. While touching, the days of writing love letters are over. Does technology help or hinder this issue? Does the expanding access to the internet give people more opportunities to cheat on their significant others? Is it detrimental to romantic relationships and can it encourage unfaithfulness?

#4

I know we’ve talked about this topic a lot, but I feel like this story needs telling at least once. As much as digital technology and social media might actually be isolating, I’ve also seen it connect people in wonderful ways. I have a friend who religiously plays the MMO (massive multiplayer online) game, World of Warcraft. Through this, an interesting thing happened; she met one of her best friends. After that, a friend of a friend on Facebook contacted her and they started talking. And again, she met another on the chat site Omegle. All of these people are spread throughout the country, Texas, Oregon, New Hampshire, do different things, and have different lives. In spite of this, they all started “hanging out” online. They quickly became incredibly close, and now refer to themselves as the Skype Family. They’ve all been friends for over five years now, and I have seen the group be there for my friend time and time again. It’s true that digital technology can be insidious, but it can also do what it touts to: connect people. Of course, on the other side of the coin, there are negative sides to this. Such easy access to everyone, all the time, can encourage those who may not have the best intentions. Cyber trafficking, of people, of sex trades, runs rampant. As always, connection isn’t always wanted, or warranted.

#3

In Sherry Turkle’s TEDTalk, “Connected, but alone?”, she attempts to inform us on how technology is turning into a negative presence in our lives. She believes that although we have instantaneous access to methods of connection, we are more isolated and alienated from each other than ever. While Turkle is wary of of the potentially harmful impact that technology is having on our way of living, she does not denounce it completely. She instead suggests simply limiting our exposure to technology. Turkle does offer up persuasive examples of how technology is changing us as a society, such as how we are turning to “sociable robots” for comfort and companionship. She seems to use these details to try to open our eyes to some of the possibly uncomfortable ways that technology is affecting us. She also builds up her ethos by speaking about her past as a psychologist and past studies she has performed. I believe through her utilization of these topics, she does succeed in informing us on relevant issues and persuading us to think about how we may need to think about limiting our screen time.

#2

In her TEDTalk, "Connected, but alone?", psychologist Sherry Turkle speaks about how technology is affecting our lives, possibly for the negative. She believes that the advancement of technology is just making us more isolated even as we try to connect. That technology gives us "a new way of being alone together". She says that one reason that we turn to technology is control. Through technology we can easily rewrite, edit or delete what we say before we communicate. In real life conversation, we can’t filter out information that doesn't interest us. This leads to a lack of true communication and connection. She describes what she calls "The Goldilocks Effect", being able to achieve complete perfection; not too much, not too little, just right. Turkle also speaks about how we are turning to technology for comfort, replacing humans with machines. She also argues that have lost our ability to be comfortable being alone, and that being comfortable in solitude is incredibly important to cultivating self awareness.

#1

So I guess research is looking stuff up? But no really, it’s finding all you can about a certain subject or topic to expand your knowledge of it. When I think “research”, I think of scholarly papers, or medical studies. Usually, when I do research, it’s more mundane; If you consider looking up the best Dim Sum restaurant in the Chicagoland area research.

My one encounter with research writing was freshman year of high school. It didn’t go well. I really had no idea what I was doing, or even how to write a paper. I couldn’t find many reputable sources, and wasn’t properly taught how to use the sources I did find. It also didn’t help that that was the first paper I had ever written. Being home schooled before that year, I never really had the need to write an extensive research essay. What an introduction.

What I’m looking forward to most is finding a topic that I feel strongly about and being able to back it up with substantial facts. There’s something empowering and comforting in knowledge. When I have something I’m genuinely interested in, discovering more about it and sharing what I’ve learned seems only natural. On the other hand, I have never written an 8 page paper before. If I got stressed out about the 3 page essay (especially the source use), I’m a little more than apprehensive about how this is going to go.