Guy 1: "Hey man, wanna hang?" Guy 2: "Sure, where?" Guy 1: "Online, where else dude?"

Society has undoubtedly witnessed a dramatic rise in technology that has changed the course of history throughout the years.  It has affected both our personal, social, and even our academic lives.  You want proof? You're looking at it right now, eyes bouncing off each digital word onto the next; unaware that this is actually one of my school assignments.  I'm used to writing journal entries on a pen and paper, but now my journal entries occur here, thanks to my professor (Not intended to be a negative comment).  This is just a sample of how technology easily seeps into our lives.  The digital media is fast, growing, and contains information that is easily accessible with just a click away.  Take Wikipedia for instance: You wanna know about the history of Thanksgiving? Type it up on Wikipedia, and you'll get hundreds of articles related to this festive holiday.  You no longer need to visit the library for research when you've got your own digital library in your living room.  The idea of the digital media reigning supreme over old-school resources (Books, libraries, etc.) draws comparison to Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451.  Bradbury depicts a dystopian society where firemen hunt for any books they can find, and burn them.  This is without a doubt a commentary on the dangers of technological advances, and although books have not been banished, it certainly seems that we are headed towards a similar society.


Now, let me take a piece of my personal life and how technology has affected me.  When I first got the Xbox 360, I would play my games from time to time.  But when a friend of mine introduced me to Xbox Live, gaming became a whole different ballgame for me.  For several months the majority of my social life occurred in front of the television, controller in my hands and talking with my friends through a headphone.  Asa Berger, as mentioned by Barker, theorizes that video games is "associated with social isolation, violence, and addiction." (Barker, p. 360)  Asa continues by pointing out that gamers are "part of a larger gaming community but envisions it only as a virtual network lacking the authenticity of a real community." (p. 360). I do not agree with Berger that video games can lead to physical violence; I believe it is the mental stability of the kids who play these games that causes violence to occur.  I do agree, however, that gaming can cause people to become detached from their social lives, thus falling under the trap of addiction. These theories are ones I can vouch for, as I found that the more I started playing Xbox Live, the more my social life in the outside world started to deteriorate; even my grades began to make a slow plummet.  Fortunately, I am not on it as often, but only occasionally.  If Bradbury's prediction is correct, then we might also be headed towards a world where people would rather stay in their homes for socialization, making it more common than the chore of going outside to drive to your best friend's house.


I must admit that I am a sucker for technology, and my jaw drops everytime I witness another progression, often feeling envious over others and their luxury of owning something so advanced, e.g. an iphone.  But I speculate that if we are not careful, then our society may go down a certain path for the worse.