After watching a local high school let out after the school day, I began to wonder about the curious advancement of technology. Dozens of teens exited the school buildings and proceeded off campus to their respective destinations. What was interesting was that, while there were so many in such close proximity to each other, few if any seemed to be speaking to another person. One could not help but notice, though, that pretty much all of them were engaged on some electronic devise . It reminded one of that Tahoe taking kids to school. Mom is on the phone, the student in the front seat is focused on texting and all the kids in the back seats were either likewise texting, on the phone or wired in to some sort of MP3 player. None was actually speaking to another person.

It seems to be the everyday thing of late and, though some will not find this out of kilter, one has to be aware that quietly, the ramifications are presenting themselves in many of the facets of everyday living. The utility of technology has given way to an almost obsessive dependency on not only these devises but the whole mode of communication they foster. Therein lies the problem and, if one doesn’t see that, it must be concluded that the machines are winning in the war to preserve human interaction.
Take a close look, for instance, at the widespread deterioration of the English language. Accepting that school curriculum may hold a good part of the fault here, the apparent failure of so many to approximate good grammar has to be rooted to a good degree in the lack of language skills required to send and receive text messages, often riddled with shorthand and short cuts, completely abandoning what used to be prized as correct syntax. And this is not limited to everyday conversation. Simply listen to even the alleged high level news broadcasts. The constant misuse of words and the lack of correct sentence structure is appalling.
One can be driven to screaming with the abundance of plural subjects connected to singular verbs. The constant and continual misuse of certain words like “possibly” simply adds to the fire. Do they even teach grammar and syntax in schools any more ? Would the students of today have any clue as to how to diagram a sentence ?
Another facet of our world of modern technology that should be seriously reassessed as being self defeating is the world of the career search. Back then, one would address a well written – and grammatically correct – cover letter and a professionally composed resume and forward it to the CEO ( or the actual hiring manager – not to be confused with the Human Resources Office ) of the organization to which one was seeking employment. Then the process would continue with discussion, screening by the organization and its managers, first round interviews, second round interviews, and on to an offer being made. OK, maybe not quite as simple as that but that’s the general gist of the process. These days, one is at the mercy of not only so called HR specialists who, for the most part, have no clue about the demands of the position for which they are recruiting, but the short list for even their consideration is developed by a computer scan, searching for those critical buzz words which usually have no connection to the real world. And all this can be moot if the computerized system fails to recognize a certain web browser, never receives the application in the first place because the “ sending web site “ fails to operate or, as is all too often then case, the documents are received in such format disarray that they are not even reviewed.
Sadly, and we have discussed this at length earlier, many highly qualified candidates fail to achieve a seat at the table because companies and organizations are so fixated on computerized processing.

And speaking of being fixated, how about the newest obsession in the world of schooling – on line education. While one can accept the utility of some coursework being offered on line, particularly in the fashion of long distance learning, the question needs to be asked, at what cost are we offering education on a computer monitor rather than in a classroom where a student can intellectually and socially interact with other students ? A survey course in history, for instance, might well be offered on line if it is only purposed to present a chronological calendar of events, leaving out any discussion of the impact of those events, let alone the opinions of others about that impact. Take for instance this scenario. Picture yourself in a large university community with a huge international population. It is 1968, the height of the Viet Nam war and newspapers from all over the world are covering this mess, offering not only facts and figures but also opinions as to the what, how and why and wherefore of it all.
The discussions are constant, sometimes heated and always bringing various and highly varied opinions to the table. Can you get that on a computer monitor ? What about discussing a new discovery in the solar system ? Would a discussion discussion of this be more productive in a chat room or or in a classroom where one can actually see the persons who are offering opinions ? After all, seeing ones expressions are a significant part of communication unless, of course, one is completely robotic.
Another concern – one fails to see how any educational institution can offer a degree, especially a professional degree with a critically shortened timeline and conducted totally in a chat room. Sorry, it just doesn’t float for this writer and the lack of experience in a socratic setting plays out in the real world as inability to discuss, debate and negotiate a program, a project, a plan of action or anything else for that matter.

One is not completely anti – technology here, nor a technophobe. Technology and its modern applications have allowed us humans to make major strides in securtiy, medicine, travel, and yes, indeed, communication. In some ways it has advanced our way of living and in some ways, in the quality of living. However, it is sometimes quite scary that a whole wave of seeming dependency has crept in to our way of life.
Albert Einstein once mused “ I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots “ ! OK, that might be a bit extreme but there is truth to many of the grains of this thought. It is especially true when entering the realm of social interaction as well as, as noted earlier, our ability to discuss and debate. It is apparent to some of us that one root cause for all the hostility out there might just might be that widespread inability to engage in civil discourse unless and until some screen on a lap top or tablet or phone didn’t provide directions !