Effects of Technology in Society

Technology and society are two inseparable variables. We depend on technology to communicate, learn, do business and even travel from one part of the world to another. The human demand for technological advancements has been rising over the past decades. Although the vast technological advancements have been associated with negativity, the positive impacts of technology on our daily lives cannot be overlooked. The way we use technology in our society determines its impacts in our lives thus informing our judgments. The paper thus focuses on the effects of Google and the Telephone in the society taking into consideration the positive impacts of technology in the society.

In the article Time and Distance Overcome by Eula Biss, the world did not receive Alexander Graham’s invention of the telephone well. The idea that wires suspended from poles would connect every home in the country seemed impossible to most people and they thus did everything possible to frustrate Graham’s effort. In 1889, there rose a terrific war on telephone poles where homeowners and business owners blocked telephone companies from erecting telephone poles close to their homes (Biss). The poles were cut down immediately after their erection forcing the Bell Telephone Company to have a man stand at the top of every pole to protect the poles.

            However, the ability of the telephone to bring families in closer touch saw the telephone gain more recognition including its installation in the statehouse. However, with the end of the war against telephone poles, the poles gained popularity yet again for having people particularly the black Americans hanging and dying from the poles (Biss).

Nevertheless, the telephone plays an integral part in the society particularly during the twenty-first century.  Telephone calls build stronger relationships, fosters clear communication and enables people to save time by allowing them to get immediate feedback. Additionally, the telephone helps people conducting businesses keep a personal relationship with their customers making them feel more valued.

            Google seems to be interfering with the way people think and study in the recent past. In the article, Is Google Making us Stupid,? by Carr (2008) Most people are finding it difficult to concentrate for long hours reading huge books. The availability of a large pool of information on the internet has made it difficult for most scholars to concentrate on reading huge books. Over dependency on the internet has made people fight to maintain their concentration on long pieces of writing.

However, it is important to note that the net is becoming a universal medium enjoying popularity amidst a huge number of users. People have a quick access to information that would otherwise take a long period of time to gain by reading books. Although Nicholas Carr finds it corrupting our thinking, Google has made our learning pleasurable since and we can learn more than we did in the previous decades.

Works Cited

Biss, Eula. “Time and Distance Overcome.” The Iowa Review(2008): 83-89.

Carr, Nicholas. Is Google making us stupid? What the Internet is doing to our brains. Vol. 1. July, 2008.