As I was reading The Shallows by Nicholas Carr in chapter one he was
mentioning the "upgrade cycle" by this he meant that he was
constantly upgrading or buying new technology. Now new technology means new
phones, faster computers, and all around faster everything. But, is it necessary?
Yes some software require faster computers to use, but that’s the only thing
why you would need to upgrade. Some people go to great lengths to get new
things, such as stealing. That’s really how all the big tech companies are
making their money, by releasing faster and better machines. Even if we have
the newest technology we still seem to not be satisfied we have a craving for
more. Is it in our nature now, to have the newest things? When there was no
real technology to be mass produced in the early centuries what did people
want? What did they need most? It seems we have our priorities mixed up in today’s
world. We’re spending more money on the newest thing when we already have a
year older version of it, we could instead invest our money into school funding
or donating to charity rather than spending it on items that will be outdated
in a year. Will technology always be advancing or will we at one point in time
be stuck with the same phone for a couple years because we are not able to
advance? In my opinion, yes in our generation today we always want new things
so it seems plausible to get every single new thing, I know this will never
happen but we should instead invest in something recreational.
I think the desire for new and better things may be partly related to the neuroplasticity that Carr talks about. As ads and society pressure us to always get the new and best thing, our brains might change so that we are always wanting new things. The way we want things might be changing due to ads and technology just like the way we read is being changed by surfing the internet. I'm no neuro scientist, so i have no evidence to back up this idea, but it is an idea nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, technology doesn't advance because we want it to. It advances because companies keep finding better ways to improve what they have out. Just like Apple's Iphone for instance, they released the Iphone 3 and a year or so later they released the Iphone 4. To me they didn't release it because the people wanted it, they did it because they found a way to make improvements to the Iphone 3. Since they keep realsing new items, I do believe it is our nature to want it, but not need it. Some people get it because they think they rely on it, and some get it because they just want to be part of the new thing. It isn't necessarily a bad thing, to me.
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