Essay Example on Smartphones: Revolutionizing Communication and Convenience

Technology keeps growing, and people get to experience new advancements and inventions in each dawning day. Smartphones have gone through much evolving, and people are using them to communicate with each other. Nowadays, a lot of communication happens on social media platforms, and people from all over the globe can connect and interact. Family members who are far from each other can now keep contact easily with their loved ones. As much as smartphones have brought about much convenience, they also have their disadvantages. As highlighted by Are we in a race against the Machine? Most people are overwhelmed by the numerous things that a smartphone can do, especially in relation to social media. This paper will give an analysis of the topic Are We in a race against the Machine and also highlight the impact of smartphones and other forms of technology on human beings.

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Greenfield states that due to smartphones and technologies, the human brain has been affected in several ways. She said that "the attention spans are shorter, personal communication skills are reduced, and there is a marked reduction in the ability to think abstractively." As a neuroscientist, she has a vast knowledge of the human brain, and she stated that the brain's growth pattern had been affected. This effect of technology has mostly affected young people, and this explains the results of the survey conducted by the researchers at Chapman University. Are we in a race against the Machine stated that the survey indicated that most adults are afraid of technology and they consider it a disaster.

According to the topic, some researchers state that the effects of technology have been overstated. According to them, the technological advancements and innovations tend to improve the thinking capacity of human beings, and people become smarter. Clive Thompson is one of those researchers, and he states that "the growing role of computers in chess playing has helped in expanding people's thinking capacities (Brynjolfsson et al. 5)." Kenneth Goldsmith also argues that the time that people spend on the internet does not go to waste. He argues that the internet allows people to develop new skills and expound on their areas of interest. In some social media platforms like YouTube, there are numerous educational videos on different areas and topics that affect people in daily lives. The internet has allowed people to interact and share knowledge, helping each other to grow their thinking capacity.

Other social media platforms like Snapchat are "easy, fun, and language-free," as Jenna Wortham states (Brynjolfsson et al. 9). The easiness of the specific social media platform allows people to be themselves and express themselves fully. When people are allowed to express themselves while interacting with others, the levels of depression will go down. This illustration shows how the technology can be customized according to the needs of the user. Someone can watch an educational video on YouTube, take fun pictures on Snapchat, and later on interact with friends and family on Facebook. The convenience of the internet is undeniably great.

Social media is just a small representation of technology. In order to answer the above question of 'are we in a race against the machine,' we have to consider all categories and forms of technology. Generally, artificial intelligence is almost overtaking that of human beings. Take the example of robots. These machines were initially invented to undertake tasks that were too risky for human beings. With time, however, people started using them to perform tasks that could be performed by humans. Everybody is aware that a robot is more efficient than a human being. A robot is almost 100% perfect in all the tasks that it is programmed to undertake. This aspect of technology brings forth the question of whether artificial intelligence will end up being prominent in human intelligence. Prettner and Strulik (2017) state that "Examples for automation technologies that have received prominent media coverage in the last few years include industrial robots that are more and more able to replace human workers on assembly lines; driverless cars…(Prettner and Strulik 1)" Work previously performed by human beings are now being performed by robots.

The inventions and innovations being made to make work easier have become the greatest competitors of humans. People are competing with robots for job positions, which has resulted in an increase in unemployment rates. According to Prettner and Strulik, robots are being used to perform basic tasks like painting, vehicle assembling, an inspection of products, or welding. Such activities offer employment opportunities to many people, and this has been jeopardized by the invention of robots. For example, if ten people were needed to paint a whole building, more than ten families would benefit. With the introduction of robots, only one person will be needed to operate it, and this will mean that ten or more families will feel that impact.

According to Prettner and Strulik (2019), "technological innovations have an impact on the general economy because they only benefit the high-skilled workers (pg. 3). According to the authors, when an invention is made, it is the high-skilled workers who are asked to run the program or operate a robot, while the low-skilled workers are left behind. In almost companies and institutions, the number of high-skilled workers is lesser than that of low-skilled workers. This can be interpreted as the unemployment rate increasing, which will eventually negatively affect the economy. The innovations made will result in better production and outputs because they are more efficient than human beings. The amount of disposable income amongst citizens will decrease because most of them are unemployed, and this will affect the country's economy. This shows that human beings are in a constant race with the machines because they are both necessary, yet they keep replacing each other.

People invented the technology, to make life easier. However, the technology that we have now has made lives too easy to the extent that people have lost their reading and reflection capabilities. As highlighted earlier in the essay, a neurosurgeon had argued that technology impacts the thinking capacity of human beings. Alsop (2005) wrote an article that is in line with the neurosurgeon's arguments. She states that she is afraid of technology because it consumes the human brain, and people tend to rely on it. Alsop states that "You may be surprised to learn that I am relatively young and belong to that generation that is generally assumed to embrace all the gifts and challenges of technology. (Alsop 1)." This declaration by the author shows that some millennials do not love technology, which is not common. Most people who use technology are teenagers and young people. Alsop states that people who have been affected by technology are university students because they have lost the capability to read and reflect on books. The author also states that "Students are also reading more haphazardly if at all while juggling part-time jobs and heavy course loads (Alsop 3)." As a result of technology and online classes, people are students able to work while studying. This can be considered positive, but it has resulted in them being unable to read well and reflect.

Conclusion

The question of whether we are in a race against the machines can be answered from two perspectives. The first one is a positive perspective, which shows that technology has impacted people's lives positively. As highlighted above, people can now interact with their friends and families using various social media platforms. The internet has also allowed people to learn new skills through platforms like YouTube, websites, and blogs. On the other hand, some researchers argue that technology has affected human's thinking capacity, and people have lost their ability to reflect and read well. Other people argue that technological inventions like robots have replaced people in various workplaces, increasing the unemployment rates. This essay will conclude by stating that we are in a race against the machines, but people should learn how to interact with technology sustainably.

References

Brynjolfsson, Erik, and Andrew McAfee. Race against the machine: How the digital revolution is accelerating innovation, driving productivity, and irreversibly transforming employment and the economy. Brynjolfsson and McAfee, 2011. Retrieved from www.amazon.com/Race-Against-Machine-Accelerating-Productivity-ebook/dp/B005WTR4ZI

Prettner, Klaus, and Holger Strulik. "The lost race against the machine: Automation, education, and inequality in an R&D-based growth model." Education, and Inequality in an R&D-Based Growth Model (December 1, 2017). cege Discussion Papers 329 (2017).

Alsop, Justine. "Losing our minds: The impact of technology on reading and reflection." College & Research Libraries News 66.11 (2005): 790-792.