Computer Shaped World

How has our world today been shaped by our culture and how has the academic-industrial complex been affected as a result? William Deresiewicz and Mark Edmundson discuss the complexity of this issue in a video conversation.

The biggest direct impact is without a doubt the computer world and its relationship in and outside the classroom.

According to Amanda Vo, computers have greatly shaped our world today, although not in a good way; rather computers are “the start of the deterioration of our society.” I agree with Vo that computers have placed us in a bubble that have made us more distant from the real world and instead closer to our computers. We do indeed treat our computers as our companions. Without them we would feel lost and scared; we would be forced to deal with the real world much more frequently. Computers give us a chance to hide from the real world and put a safety net around ourselves.

In a sense, our emotions and feelings are shoved down and suppressed through the use of computers. Emotion through a computer is simply a string of words. After learning to deal with emotion through a computer for a while, we become confused as to how to cope with emotion in real life. Thus computers will indeed be the “deterioration” of our society if we continue to use them we way we do. We are mimicking the computer by becoming increasingly less aware of feelings and more capable of multi-tasking. If you are what you eat, why not say, you are what you use? I would not be surprised if one of these days we all just flat out turned into walking computers.

In the working world, the way students have been brought up could be problematic. According to Alex Solano, “college students have made their lives revolve around computers and the internet [and] when they start at a job that isn’t as modern or technology centered, it could turn out disastrous.” Although Solano’s point that college students could potentially be working for older people who have not transitioned to the new era of computers is interesting, I disagree that this would be a major problem mostly impart to the fact that there is a very small percentage of businessmen that are not clued into the computer world.

Nevertheless, it is still possible. “If college students expected their jobs to work as seamlessly as their computers and the internet do, in some cases they might be very disappointed. Both employers and future employees will have to work on getting used to each other, if they live drastically different lifestyles,” Solano writes. This is a valid point, however one could argue that is it a crucial life skill that one must learn in any setting to get along with people with differing lifestyles. In fact this is what college should be aimed to help develop.

Vo mentions an interesting point: we multitask so much that we in fact could be considered less lazy than we think. “We call ourselves lazy, but in all honesty, we do a lot more than we give ourselves credit for.” I personally don’t believe that multitasking could be considered being “less lazy." A man sitting on the couch could be multitasking by clicking a remote while simultaneously being on the phone. This doesn’t exactly qualify as being productive in my opinion; he is just making his time more interesting by doing more than one thing at once.

On the other hand, Vo mentions the dedicated and challenge-seeking individuals at Chapman “who are taking eighteen credits, have two jobs and are taking part in some sort of athletic team, yet still somehow make time to see their friends and—of course—stay attached to their computers.” This is more impressive, and a rather different, more complex form of multi-tasking.

Although one could argue that these individual are often extrinsically motivated and are doing it for the reward of making more money later in life, or praise from parents and friends, this is still a rather impressive way of life. Vo states, “we can’t help it: it’s in our nature to be taking on so much at once.” Is it really our nature to do so much? Did cavemen really crave the need to make a fire while also jumping on one foot and calling out to their friends? Or have we just trained ourselves into thinking that our way of life is normal?

The reality is that it is so far from being “normal” to be so distant from real human interaction. Our bodies are meant to interact with other individuals. Our bodies were not made to sit in front of a computer 24/7 and “bond” with it in a closer way than the other humans that are surrounding us. Although computers are without a doubt useful, they will be our downfall should we treat them as our friends and continue to neglect our real friends as a result.

Furthermore, the introduction of computers into the classroom can result in a lessened attention span of the students as a result lowered learning. Kasondra Carver points out that “college students bring their laptops to class in order to take notes and outline the professor’s presentations. However, some students spend their class time surfing the web instead of taking notes and listening to the lecture.” This again relates to the fact that students today attempt to multitask on a regular basis which is not necessarily helping them to become more efficient in the learning process. Rather, it slows it down and makes teaching much harder for the professor.

Aside from the computer world, Vo also argues that although not enough students stand up for themselves these days there are still a few who do and should be applauded for it: “I’ll admit that our generation may not be the most independent, but I do believe there are a good number of students who do go against the grain and stand up for themselves.”

Standing up for oneself is very crucial to the development of society. Not being independent in one’s thought process and firm with expressing oneself could also potentially lead to the deterioration of society. Voicing one’s opinions and views is crucial in sparking debate; debate leads to an increased amount of discussing and brain power by each party – something that would be high beneficial to the growth of students. The brain is a muscle, and the more it is trained, the more it will grow. Students need to learn to train this muscle more thoroughly by speaking up more and thinking independently of the rest of the population. If everyone thought the same way, how would we ever be able to grow and develop? Ideas spring from debate and questioning.

Austin Page believes that “universities should strive to produce hybrid students. Students who can appreciate and support their schools, while still critiquing it and taking action to voice their opinions and make it better.” This, in a sentence, supports my point and embodies the importance of students standing up for their views and thusly encouraging growth and learning in students.

Overall, our interaction as students through our independence or computer use is largely important in today’s culture.. It is obvious that we should try to decrease our computer use while increasing the amount we voice our opinions. Schools and teachers cannot be blamed in this area: although they can model good behavior, it is entirely up to the students to lessen their addiction to computers and to act independent of the growing monoculture.