George_Washington
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I was wondering if you guys would think that technology makes people more happy or less happy. Can technology bring happiness or misery? What do you think?
I myself am a fan of technology as in computers, audio equipment, etc. But be that as it may, I don't go hog wild over the latest technologies. But I know people who do. I know people who rent/who a massive amount of DVD's every month and who also have to have the latest gadget. I rarely buy the latest, you know, high tech gadget. I don't own any portable MP3 players, nor do I have any of the latest video game consoles. I play video games a lot but I mostly just play PC games. I don't really have a lot of time anymore to play them like I used to when I was a kid. But anyway, I wonder if buying the latest technological gadget really makes me people happy.
I think in a lot of ways, technology doesn't always make things better and this is another issue I would like to address in this thread. The examples are numerous. Laser cut diamonds don't look as eye memorizing or catch the light like hand cut ones. People say that bread doesn't taste as good in a modern, high tech oven as it does in one of those medieval style cauldrons. A sword that is molded by a laser has been proven to be more brittle and less durable than one where the metal is hand folded and melted. Some people say digital film can never look as good as the real thing and they might be right. When I view films that are done on digital film, I miss the grainy look of 35mm film. It could be that digital film just has a long way to go but still. And of course we all know that hand made watches, skeleton ones where you can see the small and intricate moving parts, is more enjoyable to own than a digital one.
As much as I like technology, I think in a lot of ways, our society is losing its sense of art and culture. I think this is especially true of architecture. Nowadays, buildings are just built for business purposes and to be, "functional." This is also true of furniture. No longer do we design furniture from an artistic perspective but from a dull, scientific one. I am not against science but I think that we should still have a sense of art when we do things. As technology increases, another significant aspect to be hit hard has been fashion. Technology has led to new and interesting kinds of materials and blends, such as spandex. In this way, technology has helped fashion. However, as we become more high tech, we've also seemed to abandon fashion. This seems really odd to me. When you think about it, the 20th century has been the only time where a lot of people, even the upper classes, don't care to dress themselves up. For the vast majority of human existence, people have taken pride in displaying their social status and personalities through the way they dress. But now, suddenly, it seems we've taken a completely different kind of view.
I myself am a fan of technology as in computers, audio equipment, etc. But be that as it may, I don't go hog wild over the latest technologies. But I know people who do. I know people who rent/who a massive amount of DVD's every month and who also have to have the latest gadget. I rarely buy the latest, you know, high tech gadget. I don't own any portable MP3 players, nor do I have any of the latest video game consoles. I play video games a lot but I mostly just play PC games. I don't really have a lot of time anymore to play them like I used to when I was a kid. But anyway, I wonder if buying the latest technological gadget really makes me people happy.
I think in a lot of ways, technology doesn't always make things better and this is another issue I would like to address in this thread. The examples are numerous. Laser cut diamonds don't look as eye memorizing or catch the light like hand cut ones. People say that bread doesn't taste as good in a modern, high tech oven as it does in one of those medieval style cauldrons. A sword that is molded by a laser has been proven to be more brittle and less durable than one where the metal is hand folded and melted. Some people say digital film can never look as good as the real thing and they might be right. When I view films that are done on digital film, I miss the grainy look of 35mm film. It could be that digital film just has a long way to go but still. And of course we all know that hand made watches, skeleton ones where you can see the small and intricate moving parts, is more enjoyable to own than a digital one.
As much as I like technology, I think in a lot of ways, our society is losing its sense of art and culture. I think this is especially true of architecture. Nowadays, buildings are just built for business purposes and to be, "functional." This is also true of furniture. No longer do we design furniture from an artistic perspective but from a dull, scientific one. I am not against science but I think that we should still have a sense of art when we do things. As technology increases, another significant aspect to be hit hard has been fashion. Technology has led to new and interesting kinds of materials and blends, such as spandex. In this way, technology has helped fashion. However, as we become more high tech, we've also seemed to abandon fashion. This seems really odd to me. When you think about it, the 20th century has been the only time where a lot of people, even the upper classes, don't care to dress themselves up. For the vast majority of human existence, people have taken pride in displaying their social status and personalities through the way they dress. But now, suddenly, it seems we've taken a completely different kind of view.
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