Is Technology Beneficial or Detrimental to Learning? - Paper Example

Introduction

Technology is beneficial and detrimental to contemporary learning. Nevertheless, it has both positive and negative effects on the society. According to the Phaedrus excerpt, technology is detrimental to learning because it will introduce forgetfulness characteristics to the individuals who learn it. Arguably, they will not memorize things because they are bound to put their trust in the art of writing which is external, and it relies on signs of other people. Technology does not help learners to remember from inside on their own but depends on the writing. It also makes students appear that they are wise, but they are not real with what they have written. Technology is not for providing wisdom but for reminding which is detrimental to learning. Besides, it will only make students to hear things without necessarily being taught about them thus limiting their learning knowledge. The invention of technology will also make learners imagine that they know many things while in the real sense they know nothing. Therefore, technology will make learners to appear wise while in reality, they are not.

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Technology is detrimental to learning according to Socrates because written instructions can only serve as a reminder to a person who already knows an idea. Written instructions cannot yield results to a particular problem in the society. Technology is as good as a painting because it remains silent and it cannot offer any solution since it remains solemnly silent. Arguably, when you read written ideas, and you reach a point where you want to know more about a certain phenomenon, the reading won't allow you know more about it thus limiting knowledge of individual students. When writing is disputed, it cannot defend itself but only depends on the support of its author. To this extent, therefore, technology is detrimental to learning since it does not address key issues in acquiring wisdom.

Technology will lead to rampant laziness in the society because easy access to intellectual books will negatively affect minds of individuals. Written words facilitated by advancement in technology are believed to replace the knowledge of people inside their heads. Technology has eroded the culture in the society since many people cannot think on their own, but they use books brought by the invention of technology. Individuals use computers to carry out their daily activities such as doing research, which with internet skills and knowledge takes few minutes to be completed. The tradition of western culture was very complex and dense with educated individuals who articulated their real personalities, but nowadays people are overloaded with internet information readily availed by modern technology. Means of communication has experienced development due to advancement in technology. Many people around the world can use Google technology to research some emerging problems in the society.

Conclusion

Ultimately, modern technology helped in the development of society because it provided an avenue for spreading new ideas, information, as well as expanding human knowledge. For instance, cell phone technology has enabled faster transmission of sound signals and messages around the world. It provided the society with means of preserving ideas and information for future generation. For instance, technology helps societies to preserve their history and their culture. On the other hand, it is argued that technology-facilitated printing of books and broadsheets, which consequently diminished religious authority, demean scholars' work and spread debauchery. Technology depicts both positive and negative effects on the society. Internet users in the society are expected to change their cultural norms because it encourages cultural diversity and assimilation. Members of the society using internet technology mostly adopted cultural values from other communities, which may not go down well with their societies. In conclusion, technology, as found in the two readings, is detrimental to learning, and it poses both positive and negative effects on the society.

Works Cited

Excerpt from "Is Google Making Us Stupid? What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains" By Nicholas Carr.

Excerpt from Phaedrus by Plato