Page 6 / Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Editorial
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Loss of humanity at the hands of technology
The age we live in is truly one that
is ruled and dictated by technology.
Today, everything people do is
in the context of technology and
constant connectivity. Many argue
that mankind’s constant need for
technological expansion is degrading
society into a culture that is obsessed
with the here and now, only focusing
on the future and rarely on the past.
Many scholars in academic circles
argue that the human race is losing
touch with the natural world and is
replacing it with an artificial and
superficial world. Rarely do people
actually take the time anymore to
appreciate what makes mankind
actually human, what gives them their
humanity.
This is the point that John Paul
Russo made in his recent lecture
at Elon. A professor of English at
the University of Miami in Coral
Gables, Fla., Russo warned against
the extinction of the humanities.
He discussed this rising trend of
technological dependence, or rather
the decline of the humanities, being
the social sciences of literature,
history, language and the arts.
Russo cited that literary reading
rates are down on all demographics,
and reading levels have declined
across the board, especially among
the traditionally higher educated.
People are reading for leisure less, as
our culture has quickly transformed
into a visual one. People figure why
read the book when they can watch the
abbreviated and often misconstrued
movie version.
Another point that Russo
commented on was the
transformation of language after the
introduction of technology. Russo
said that technology establishes
ambiguous words, words without
meaning or any deeper connotation,
as its diction. If that confuses
anybody, simply take a look at
the outrageous language of “text-
speak.” The “words” like “lol,” “brb”
and “ttyl” now dominate people’s
written language and even their
spoken language at times. A fuming
creative writing professor vented
when a student used “brb” in an oral
sentence. ‘“Be right back’ has three
syllables; you're not saving any time
by hacking it down to ‘brb,’” he said.
Even more so than literature,
history is disregarded as a
fundamental humanity. Russo
commented on The Guardian’s
the classroom. “While [student’s)
handwriting was atrocious, their
typing skills were phenomenal,”
Russo said. People often can’t
imagine life without some form of
technology present to keep them
entertained or connected. People
need that cell phone to text their
friends with, or need that mp3 player
with which they can listen to their
favorite tunes.
A religion professor recently
challenged his students to a task
that seemed daunting to many. The
assignment was to put away all
cell phones, all iPods, all forms of
Literary reading rates are down on all
demographics, and reading levels have declined
across the board, especially among the traditionally
higher educated.
discounting of British students not
knowing who Winston Churchill is,
saying, “O Guardian, whom are you
guarding?”
But in this era where culture and
society is shifting and evolving so fast,
almost nothing is what it was like in
the past. How are people supposed to
relate to eras in the past when it was
such a different time back then? More
so than just a time difference, the
past seems like it is worlds away from
where people are right now. Students
“view the past as strange, confusing
and unnecessary,” Russo said.
“This generation was reared in
the midst of a communications
revolution,” Russo said. For many of
the students of this age, the computer
was a natural and integral part of
connectivity to the outside world, and
go out into a secluded space for half
an hour and just sit, disregarding
all commitments and engagements
that keep society in its constant rat
race of life. Picture it as a 30-minute
experience of Into the Wild.
How many people can envision
their lives without the constant
connection to the world? For many
people, their lives rely on the
interconnectivity that technology
provides. Russo described how 15
years ago the office in his English
department had four secretaries
and seven machines. Now it has four
secretaries and in the range of 50
machines, ranging from fax machines
to computers to printers to cell
phones to microwaves.
Russo explained how the Enelki,
department once received a fax
that was sent miles into the air to
satellite and was relayed back down
to the fax machine in their office tk
fax came from the office next donn!
the same building. “
“Face to face contact has been
replaced with face to machine
contact,” Russo said.
Another one of Russo's points
was surrounding technology's
impact on the world in more of a
physical sense than an academic
sense. Russo commented on the
environmental degradation of the
Florida everglades, stating, “It takes
more technology to stop technology
from destroying the environment"
This is coupled with environmental
issues that seem to have no solution
like global warming. It’s a global
case of entropy, and Russo made it
seem as though little could be done
against the growing destruction
of technology. As Russo also
said, “progress is irreversible and
unstoppable.”
Is society truly destroying its
foundation and transforming
into a baseless culture that many
academics view as soulless?
Unfortunately, while Russo did
outline what he obviously views
as an important issue, he failed to
detail any specific solutions for the
problem.
He didn’t outline how to reignlte
literary interest in youth in the United
States, or how to pique curiosity '
over history. While this may stand
as a huge issue in the way of the
future of the humanities in the way
of academia, it seems little can be
done short of an entire cultural
reevaluation of what is valued and I
important to society. ]
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