Technology & Family

In our "Ethics and Technology" class, we have discussed many positives and negatives accompanied with modern technology. The positives can probably go without being discussed as many people feel that new technology only makes life easier. The people that feel this way are not wrong, they feel these gadgets have made life easier and they have. However, the easier these modern devices make things, the lazier people tend to get. I do feel like we should be using the advances in technology to assist us and help us get ahead in our career.

A hot topic in our class the past few weeks has been the idea of technology taking away from family interaction or togetherness. Borgmann proposed the example involving the fireplace and the heating system. Not only are we unable to fix the heating system on our own, but it also takes away from the possibility of gathering wood logs as a family and then huddling together on cold evenings near the fireplace. This could be stretching it a bit, I am aware. However, many solutions from this advancement in technology could be considered 'harmful' to a family. In class we discussed the idea of frozen dinners or pre-made food that just needs to be heated and serves. Of course a family could still enjoy this meal together, but its not Grandma's home cooking.

At first when discussing these things, I was not sure if they could really come between a family. Upon thinking of this, I decided to reflect on some experiences in my family. My family takes a vacation every summer. Most years we drive, although we have taken advantage of airplane transportation on some occasions. Coming from a busy family where the five of us do not have an excessive amount of time to bond just the five of us, one might think 12 hours in a car might be good bonding time. My family, like most, has the occasional argument, but looking back I wonder why we never did have a fun family discussion reflecting on previous vacations or play a fun car game. Suddenly, I realized, my sisters have their headphones in and are watching their movies, while my parents are up from listening to beach music, typically Dad enjoys Bob Marley, and I am in the back listening to my i-pod. Once again, the family is all running in different directions. My parents probably do not mind the headphones, because well it keeps the girls from fighting and occupied. For a long trip, everyone having their devices is appropriate and probably smart. My concern is when we are driving to church, or grandma's or to school, and my sisters feel the need to listen to their i-pods so that they do not need to converse with the rest of the family. The circumstances of a 12 hour car ride do not apply to a 10 to 30 minute car ride.

My family loves cards. We all learned how to play euchre one year on vacation. Now that my sisters are getting older, they have started to pick up on Texas hold 'em. We used to have card tournaments as a family, all of us playing at once, laughing and enjoying each other's company. Teams for euchre were always interesting, but it was fun because we would make sure to play a tournament where everyone got to be everyone's partner at least once. I have noticed now when I come home my youngest sister wants to play on the wii. Family game nights are not the same. My parents and I enjoy playing cards, it's what we have always done and we enjoy our traditions. The wii has been involved in a few family game nights, the sounds and noises are quite loud and take away from the communication that could have been going on at the card table. I cannot say we do not have fun, we still enjoy playing a competitive game, however, as soon as there is an issue with the TV, or wii counsel, or the remote, frustration begins to take over and game night eventually ends on a rough note.

Now, just as any argument, I feel that one can look at this and see positives. For example, I go to school 2 hours away from home. It is difficult to get home and i miss out on a lot of things. However, I cannot say I am ever out of the loop. The advancement in digital cameras and cameras on people's phones has made it very possible for me to receive pictures of my sister's broken arm, how many more grey hairs my dad has grown and how cool my little cousin looks with his new braces. In case that was enough, my mom also will forward my sister's video clips from cheer competitions. Not only can I receive pictures and video clips, but now the advances with programs such as Skype, I can communicate with family live. Cell phones were once considered huge and rare. Now they are practically a necessity, if someone does not have one, people wonder why and do not understand how people without cell phones get through a day.