2008 Woodie Awards
Technological advances
Are computers crippling society?
Dustin Ward
Issue date: 4/19/07 Section: Opinion
Technology consistently has been improving the lives of humans since the beginning of time. Inventions such as the wheel, sliced bread and the Internet have revolutionized the way we live.
But while technology has its obvious benefits, it also has its downfalls. People skills are one of the most sought-after qualifications employers look at on applications and in interviews.
The ability to effectively communicate with others often is held in higher regard than computer skills.
So why is it that people who know how to work with people are so few and far between?
Technology has impaired our human interaction skills. While computers have taught us many new things, such as how to remove the red-eye in pictures, they cannot teach us how to interact with one another face to face.
Spending an hour chatting with sexysenorita21 does not help you to develop real people skills, because you are not there seeing the emotion on the person's face and actually experiencing them.
We are losing the human touch, because we are now left with conveying our emotions with keyboard-made smiley faces and a few extra exclamation points at the end of an instant message.
Another downfall of technology is that it is replacing people in the work force. A few weeks ago I tried to contact the admissions department at UT. But instead of speaking to a friendly someone about my application, all I got was this bitter woman who told me to look it up on the Web site.
That made me think of all the people who worked in the admissions department and might have lost their jobs because the information is now online. Then I realized it was not just the admissions department at UT, that this is happening everywhere.
Now you can do self-checkout in stores. How long will it be before they no longer have any real sales clerks? At banks they want you to do direct deposit, instant bill pay and online banking.
What is going to happen to the people who make their living doing those things for us? It only takes a few people to create computer programs that will cost the jobs and livelihoods of thousands.
But while technology has its obvious benefits, it also has its downfalls. People skills are one of the most sought-after qualifications employers look at on applications and in interviews.
The ability to effectively communicate with others often is held in higher regard than computer skills.
So why is it that people who know how to work with people are so few and far between?
Technology has impaired our human interaction skills. While computers have taught us many new things, such as how to remove the red-eye in pictures, they cannot teach us how to interact with one another face to face.
Spending an hour chatting with sexysenorita21 does not help you to develop real people skills, because you are not there seeing the emotion on the person's face and actually experiencing them.
We are losing the human touch, because we are now left with conveying our emotions with keyboard-made smiley faces and a few extra exclamation points at the end of an instant message.
Another downfall of technology is that it is replacing people in the work force. A few weeks ago I tried to contact the admissions department at UT. But instead of speaking to a friendly someone about my application, all I got was this bitter woman who told me to look it up on the Web site.
That made me think of all the people who worked in the admissions department and might have lost their jobs because the information is now online. Then I realized it was not just the admissions department at UT, that this is happening everywhere.
Now you can do self-checkout in stores. How long will it be before they no longer have any real sales clerks? At banks they want you to do direct deposit, instant bill pay and online banking.
What is going to happen to the people who make their living doing those things for us? It only takes a few people to create computer programs that will cost the jobs and livelihoods of thousands.
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