Don’t blame technology

In recent years, there is a popular myth on the Internet stating that modern technology doesn’t make humans more dominant over other animals in the planet; instead it degenerates us to become less and less competitive and creative.  This myth seems to have a credible rationale behind it – Darwin’s evolution theory.  People who support this opinion justify that according to natural selection, the most sturdy and intelligent ones of a species will survive to pass on salutary genes and therefore promote the whole species, but modern technology, such as medical facilities and artificial intelligence, guarantees that most of humans, no matter ingenious or dull, healthy or weak, will live a long life and raise the next generation.  By that reason, those people are convinced that humans will gradually lose their marvelous body and mind because of the technology they have invented.

That’s not the only accusation modern technology has faced.  When googling “essay about technology”, I noticed that interestingly nine out of ten essays talked about how technology ruined our lives.  For example, parents and teachers mention that many teenagers immerse themselves in the virtual world created by computers and almost become incapable of communicating with others face to face.  Wide-spreading cyber bully and online threats also redefine the Internet as an evil place.  Besides Internet, recently in California, a student was murdered inside a crowded train.  All the passengers, concentrated in their tablets and smartphones, didn’t notice the murderer waving his weaponing in plain sight.  According to San Francisco District Attorney, bystanders were completely unmindful to their surroundings and also vulnerable to crime because of the delicate gadgets in their hands.   In brief, it’s extensively believed that modern technology has made people become more and more greedy, aggressive, ignorant, and lazy.

I find it ridiculous that people tend to blame technology for all the mistakes they have made out of their own desire and selfishness.  Any kind of technology is just a tool without self-directed, independent mind.  A gun will not shoot people automatically unless someone pulls the trigger; a computer virus will not attack data files for no reason unless someone has programmed it to do so; if someone commits murder with a blade, the court will sentence the murderer to years of imprisonment instead of putting the blade into jail.  For the recent crime in Francisco I mentioned before, bystanders’ tablets and smartphones are not to blame for the murder, the shooter is.  No matter whether the bystanders cared about surroundings or not, it’s the murderer’s crime to kill the student, not the technology’s.

Some people indeed realize the innocence of technology itself, then they turn to condemn scientists and engineers who invented some of the technologies.  Many scientists are accused by those people of designing and developing equipment and facilities for their own fame and wealth, and completely ignoring the future detrimental effects those innovations would have.  For most inventions scientists have brought to the world, their intentions are to extend humans’ physical capacities, to render us convenience, efficiency, and accessibility.  It’s the succeeding human being who turned these inventions into vicious weapon.  Alfred Nobel, who is known for his Nobel Prize, invented dynamite primarily for technical and industrial purpose.  The early usage of dynamite was mainly in mining, quarrying and construction industries, but soon enough, people found its value in warfare, and one technology which was supposed to serve people finally began to be used to kill people.

Richard Heffner in the Open Mind described our contemporary thrust towards blaming technology as “the irrational search for scapegoats”.  It’s not technology’s fault that the whole society seems to lose control and head to wrong direction.  Maybe it’s because something inside us has changed.  However, many people lack the courage to confront and overcome the imperfection of human being.  Their obsession with technological issues reveal their fear of self-examination and self-reflection which may lead them to find their unspeakable dark nature.  It’s easier for those people to just persuade themselves that technology has unavoidable and malignant influence on their mind so that they can escape from personal responsibility.  If your children become addicted to Internet and online world, talk to your children sincerely and try to educate them, take them out to meet different people and get involved in community, or more drastically, arrange an appointment with psychiatrist for your children, instead of sitting in front of your computer and complaining about how modern technology has poisoned your children.

The fact is that we can’t blame technology for malice or alienation. Technology has nothing to do with some people’s cruelty to others and obliviousness to surroundings. Evil and cold-bloodedness are human problems. They existed long before cellphones, computers, guns, and nuclear weapons were invented.