Obsession by Effects of Technology Individual’s Personality

Technology and Its Influence on Personality and Life

 Technology has turned to be a factor that influences individual’s personality and the life at large. It cuts across all the ages as people are affected differently. To some people, technology has been felt as enslavement whereas to some, it is felt as a channel that has broadened minds, promoted innovations, and motivated interpersonal development.

Technology and the Crisis in Education

To some, technology is considered as channels that have resulted in the great crisis in the education system. Different scholars have a different take on the technology and obsession to human minds. Sherry Turkle’s “Growing Up Tethered,” Jane McGonagall’s “Becoming Part of Something Bigger Than Ourselves,” and Neil Postman’s “Television as Teacher,” are examples of authors who have vividly demonstrated and revealed the obsession and enslavement of individuals by the technology such as televisions, mobile phones, and computers. The paper will, therefore, employ the three mentioned texts of Turkles, McGonagall and Postman to discuss the obsession by the technology and its influence on people’s personality and perception of life.

Positive and Negative Aspects of Technology

 McGonagall’s “Becoming Part of Something Bigger Than Ourselves” and Turkle’s “Growing Up Tethered” depicts technology as obsessive in both positive and negative manner. To start with, McGonagall appraises gamming through computer technology and asserts that it contributes to fighting the ills in the society. She adds that, “Games are showing us exactly what we want out of life: more satisfying work, better hope of success, stronger social connectivity, and the chance to be part of something bigger than ourselves…help us generate these four rewards every day, we have unlimited potential to raise our own quality of life.” (p.449) It is an assurance of what technology can add value to the lives of people in the society. However, Turkles depicts another image of technology.

Obsession and Enslavement by Technology

She gives real examples of people who had been obsessed with the technology in the attempt to growing up tethered. For instance, the case of an 18-year-old Roman who had to text even when driving. He says, “if I get a Facebook message or something posted on my wall… I have to see it,” which is an indication of obsession created by people especially the young adults and teenagers. The influence of this kind ultimately shifts one’s personality. One grows careless. People try to grow up tethered, extend their social circle and therefore extroversion and intuition may be encouraged or else, the socially weak ones may be eliminated.

Television as a Learning Tool

In Postman’s “Television as a Teacher,” he claims that television is not a tool of learning. He uses the same street show to show that this television show doesn’t encourage children to love learning but to love the shows. Children are not interested in learning but the flashlight and the colors on the television. He also shows that this show doesn’t show all the learning parts but only those that will promote the show. Postman’s complains that even though some studies claim that drama is the best learning mode only a few people were able to answer yes or no question after watching. Sherry Turkle shows how children have become obsessed with the new technology. He says that some don’t have even a reason to why they are using it. According to the study, he carried out some admitted to text while driving knowing well they should stop but they opt not to. When parents give their children cellphone they expect then to respond when they call, this means that they are allowed to go to see friends, go to movies, go to the beach, go shopping this would not be permitted if they did not have a phone. Some of the parents give their children as early they are 9 years of age. In adolescence, children become uncontrollable some admit that they sometimes ignore their parents’ phone because they need personal space (Postman, n.d)

The Influence of Social Networking

 However, some social networking molds behavior. In Turkle’s “Growing Up Tethered,” a case of a character named Brad says, “… what group you join, are they the right one? Everything is a token, a marker of who you are, (p.184)” This shows the influence of these media to the life of individuals. Young people who are obsessed with the technology are to either deemed to develop a positive or a negative character. Jane McGonagall’s “Becoming Part of Something Bigger Than Ourselves” supports her assertions that, “Games are showing us exactly what we want out of life” (p.445), to mean that technology can impact lives.

Conclusion

 In conclusion, Neil and Turkle’s study it shows how new technology is degrading the learning system and morals of the children. They also show that parents have played a big role in making the new technology very popular to the kind. In Turkle study we see that the parent gives their kids phone when they are very young and can easily be influenced by the technology. In Neil’s text, he shows how people are opting television shows as a mean of study. Children watching this show must have been permitted by the parents or a teacher. Jane shows us why children are so much into the new technology. She says they want to be identified with something bigger than themselves to denote the changing personality and perception of life. The obsession by technology therefore, ends up affecting the personality o0f people, in what they regard important and also influencing their individual lives towards positive and negative implications.

References

McGonagall’s, J. (2009). Becoming Part of Something Bigger Than Ourselves, 446-457.

Postman, N. (n.d), Television as Teacher, 421-429

Postman, N., & Weingartner, C. (1971). Teaching as a subversive activity (p. 147). Delacorte Press.

Turkle, S. (2015). Growing Up Tethered. From Inquiry to Academic Writing, 428-443