Sarah Street

13 April 2017
Keep Pushing Forward?

Humans cannot do nothing. It is a fact of the world and it is hardwired into every brain of every

Homo Sapien on earth. Being naturally curious and inquisitive beingsa trait unique to the human race

we simply cannot do nothing. Therefore, it makes sense that technology is advancing and evolving and

moving forward by the day, because humans have the natural instinct to push forward and to find out

more. However, Albert Einstein once said: It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has

exceeded our humanity. Although technology benefits society in numerous ways, Einsteins quote is

justified, specifically when regarding human social interaction, genetic modification, and human

dependence on technology.

While humans have become a lot more social in the fact that we are in constant contact, face-to-

face interaction is lessening and society is becoming less socially intelligent regarding in person

situations. In the video PSA, Look Up, a man discusses what the world has come to when every social

interaction is driven by social media and people are so consumed with devices. He begins the video by

saying, I have 422 friends, yet Im lonely. I speak to all of them everyday, yet none of them really know

me (Turk). With this statement, Turk is referring to his friends on social media rather than his real

friends, and how although he says they are his friends, they are not really because none of them really

know who he really is. But, it is not only Turk who is realizing the anti-social undertones of what we call

social media. In a similar PSA, Can We Autocorrect Humanity?, Richard Williams, better known by

his stage name Prince Ea, speaks about what technology has done to society and the effects it is having on

the social nature of humans. He emphasizes the fact that through social media, people have actually

become more narcissistic and self-impressed, feeling the need to conform to a life that will get them the

most likes and the most online friends rather than real and true human relationships. A memorable quote

concerning this topic is when he remarks: But its no wonder in a world filled with iMacs, iPads, and

iPhones, so many Is so many selfies, not enough uss and wes. See, technology has made us more

selfish and separate than ever, cause while it claims to connect us, connection has gotten no better
(Williams). People have gotten to the point of relying so much on technology to fuel their relationships,

talking miles away from each other by sending pictures of themselves back and forth on Snapchat, or

posting photos of themselves on Instagram, rather than meeting in person and having tangible

conversations without the constant urge to check their phones. Because of social media, the current

generation has developed a universal fear of missing out. Linda Sapadin, a psychologist and success

coach, does a perfect job of explaining this phenomenon. She states, Teens with FOMO are highly

anxious that everyones chatting about a FB post and they were the last to know. Or, everyones

hanging out at a party house and they were excluded...On social media, everyones flaunting what theyre

doing, with whom theyre doing it and posts are loaded with exclamation marks!!! With such pressure,

its no surprise that teens are checking their phone every two minutes to make sure theyre not missing

out on anything important (Sapadin). Social media is driving this sense of being left behind among

teenagers and young adults, causing people to become so wrapped up in what other people are doing

rather than who they are with and what they are doing right then.

In a completely different dimension of new technology, genetic modification and artificial

selection is starting to become what could be a reality. Despite the benefits of having a healthier and

more perfect human race through genetic modification, the negatives of this practice outweigh the

benefits as it would contribute to an overpopulation problem as well as a lack of diversity. In the science

fiction film Gattaca, a striking picture of what the future could look like with genetic modification, it is

discovered that artificial selection and genetic modification cannot determine motive and drive. In

essence, the film takes place in a world, not-so-far in the future, where artificial selection and genetic

modification have become the proper way to conceive a child in order for them to be able to achieve

success in the world and be considered a "valid". Those conceived regularly are considered "invalid".

When the main character, Vincent, is born, his parents are immediately told all the problems he will have,

when he will die, and essentially his whole life drawn out. However, Vincent wants to realize his dream of

traveling to space, so he ends up taking on the identity of a "valid" in order to live a better life. While the

arguments for genetic modificationsuch as eliminating disease and creating a healthier and more
perfect population of humansare sound, these few upsides could contribute to an even larger and more

fatal downfall. "While natural selection relies on diversity and keeps the fittest members of a population

in direct contact with the rest of their peers, artificial selection removes the most desirable members from

the rest of the population and encourages standardization to the point where diversity is no longer

possible (Maclin). Without diversity in the human population, so many naturally human things would

become impossible, directly supporting Einsteins quote that with technology, humanity becomes less

relevant. Not only is lack of diversity the issue, however. By increasing the health of humans to such an

extent by picking and choosing the best genes, humans are principally trying to play god and are

violating the ways of nature. Overpopulation and lack of resources is already a prevalent issue, and

without natural selection, this issue will grow even more. Humans have gotten to the point where we

make issues with technology, but rather than correcting those issues, we create more technology to solve

it that then creates another issue. It is a vicious cycle that will never end at the rate society has reached.

Because humans have become so dependent on technology for so many facets of life, society can

no longer function on its own. In the short story, Runaround, which the movie I, Robot was based from,

two men Gregory Powell and Michael Donovan are living on Mercury and have sent their robot, Speedy,

out to get selenium for them so that they can repair their photo-cell banks. The issue is, Speedy has not

returned from the trip. Since robots run on three laws they must obey and the laws were contradicting

each other in this situation, Speedy could not retrieve the selenium and the men ultimately met their

demise. This is an extreme example of reliance on technology, but one that could become a reality in the

near future. It proves that because robots cannot be programmed to have natural human instinct and

emotion, they are not able to be relied on for every situation. While humans may not exactly be relying on

robots at this moment, we are relying on machines and technology far too much. The further technology

is pushed forward and advanced, the further from our roots humans grow. In the medical component of

civilization, far too many people rely on technology to support their lives. While this is a benefit to

humans as more are living longer, it is not safe to depend on machines to keep us alive. Be that as it may,

it comes down to even more rudimentary and fundamental constituents of life, like the need to feed
ourselves. How many people could feed themselves were grocery stores and mechanically processed

foods to disappear? Not many.

Because of the extent technology has advanced and incorporated into society, technology has

exceeded humanity, especially in the realms of social interaction, genetic modification, and human

dependence. Humans cannot do nothing. But maybe it is time we learn to at least slow down. Maybe it is

time we learn to think about the consequences of all things we do.