Does Technology Lead to Greate Fulfillment in Life?

Jerome Wiesner, former president of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said that the goal of technology was "to lead mankind toward a life of greater fulfillment." Bormann of course completely disagrees with this statement because he believes that technology has an inherent detrimental affect on technology and as it becomes more embedded into our lives its deep-rooted affects become less visible.

Our lives are constantly becoming more convenient however there is a huge loss of tradition. Some of my fondest family memories are during times when technology was completely set aside; cell phones, computers, email, television, etc and our family just has conversations. Technology may make our lives easier however it also prevents families and friends from being as close as they could and should be. It seems to becoming increasingly acceptable for devices to take precedence over real human interaction. Sometimes I believe that even I interact with computers more than humans. Between cell phones with text messaging and internet, laptops, ipods, and mp3 players people typically always have somesort of electronic device on them at all times. Even when passing by someone, rather than the now "historical" smile or friendly greeting people are more likely to keep their head buried in their device as if people are no longer important or they are just simply uncomfortable with eye-contact.

Although some may think the traditional family dinner is now insignificant and a thing of the past, there is an undeniable satisfaction and enjoyment that comes from the interaction and bonding that could never be replicated by an electronic device. I was always raised in a family that made every effort to sit down and have a family dinner. We would always share our day’s experiences and work on homework as a family activity. It seems to be much more acceptable for families to set aside little to no interaction or conversation about their days events. With their actions of emailing, chatting, and watching TV the overwhelming message seems to be that technology is now taking a center stage in our lives. Family and friends are supposed to be important aspects of our lives but we are increasingly spending less time being involved in those activities and more time with electronics.
I tend to agree with Bormann with the fact that technology is replacing the everyday things in our life. Traditional values are an extremely important aspect of human life and the elimination of them will yield detrimental results. Though they may not be immediately visible these affects will keep compounding until the damage is so great that it will be unrecoverable. Technology has allowed for many conveniences in life but if we don’t use it responsibly and in moderation the effects on our social relationships with others could be a thing of the past. If used correctly technology allows for many ways to bring families closer together but it creates even more ways to drive them apart.