I came across an article on the humor website Cracked.com entitled “7 Reasons the 21st Century is Making You Miserable.”
This is intended to be a humorous article and has some offensive language, but I think it touches upon a lot of the ideas we discuss in class. The author basically cites 7 ways technology is making people unhappy compared to those 50 years ago. One of his major reasons for society’s unhappiness that I thought was interesting was the fact that we don’t encounter enough annoyance in our lives. The media has made it possible for a person to tune out all the frustrations he or she encounters daily. For one, the Internet allows almost everything to be done online, in the comfort and solitude of your own home. No longer do you need to wait in long lines and deal with a disgruntled employee at Walmart. You can even buy a CD and have it directly uploaded to your computer without having to sit through traffic at a bunch of red lights on your way to a music store.
He also points out that because of cell phones and iPod’s, we can avoid all the discomfort and inconvenience of small talk or even boredom. I know every time I have to walk around on campus I have my headphones in to make the time pass faster and more enjoyably, and when I’m waiting at the doctor’s office or something, I always try to find a friend to text or a level of Angry Birds to beat.
This author argues that building up a tolerance for annoyances makes you a happier person because you don’t get irritated as easily and you can let little things go. In the article he claims that, as a whole, people 50 years ago were generally happier with their lives and had more close friends. I wonder if he’s right, and that filtering out the annoyances in our lives just makes us less able to handle the irritating situations that we can’t avoid.
Another possibility of why new technology is making us more unhappy is that our brains are constantly overwhelmed by the flow of information. The Internet and Television, for example, both bombard us with a horde of stimuli that is nearly impossible to fully comprehend. As a result, our brain becomes stressed out, reducing us to a state of unhappiness. Also, events unfold very quickly in the digital age, forcing us to be on a constant state of alert. In fact, one of the few ways to escape this constant state of stress is to go do something that does not require digital media, like reading a book or some outdoors activity.
ReplyDeleteDevin
I agree with Devin in that we have a constant flow of information that bombards us each day that overwhelms us, but I think this article brings to light an interesting issue. We always have to be constantly doing something. When you would go to a movie five years ago, they only had advertisements on the screen while you waited for the movie. Know they have full-on featurettes on how movies are made to keep us entertained for the 10 minutes before our entertainment. We have disconnected ourselves so much that the slightest bit of uncomfortableness causes us extreme irritation.
ReplyDelete-Ryan Gerbosi
I would also agree with the two comments above. The constant flow of information can be, at times, overwhelming. We as humans, are not able to handle the vast amount of information we take in daily. This also leads to the deterioration of our memories.
ReplyDelete-Austin Johnson
I am not a very patient person and this point of view fascinates me! I never would have looked at it this way and I think it is actually a very true statement. Technology has allowed us to always have something to do. To never be bored or step out of our comfort zone and small talk with a stranger waiting in line for your starbucks every morning. Every time I am somewhere alone I always pull my phone out and text a friend or call someone. I cant stand simply standing there. We also love that easy access to things that the internet provides. You are absolutely right you can buy ANYTHING and have it sent directly to your doorstep with out even leaving your couch. This has made my patience when I do have to wait in line for that CD to be very very slim. I know I am not the only one! - Macey Flowers
ReplyDeleteWe could step back even further and blame cars, too! College students are lucky because you all get to live near each other, walk to class together, eat together. But many adults live isolated lives and not just because of new media, but because of the way our towns and cities are designed.
ReplyDelete