Monday, November 29, 2010

Conclusion

All of these types of technology cause some kinda of negative effect on society.  Whether it's the decrease in face-to-face communication or distractions while driving, the use of technology comes at a price.  Technology should not be used as a substitute for face-to-face communication or general knowledge.  It should only be used as another way to communicate or reinforce knowledge.  It's also important to follow warnings about using certain forms of technology while driving a vehicle.  As long as precautions are taken and the amount of time spent using these technologies is kept to a minimum, they can be a great asset.

Television (cont.)

 
This is a perfect example of the effects of television on teenagers.

Television

In today’s society there is at least one television in 99% of the households in America. On average there are at least 2.24 televisions per household. Television is not always bad but people spend too much time watching it. With the lack of individuality that people have, television tends to cause problems. The average households watch nearly seven hours of television per day, and most people like to eat while watching television. This sometimes contributes to obesity

Many younger children, and even teenagers, do not have very much individuality, so a lot of times they want to portray the images they see when watching television. There is so much violence on television in today's society.  Therefore, this is all most children really see growing up. In the end, it all comes back down to individuality. By this I mean children don't want to think for themselves; they want to do what they see, and most of the time, these things come from watching television.

Instead of going for a run or doing something productive, a lot of people would rather watch television.  Also, television is a major distraction from important tasks, such as studying.  Many people have been programmed to need it when doing anything.  I've witnessed people turning on the television before opening up their textbook, which is very sad.  It distracts people from the task at hand.

G.P.S. (cont.)

 
 This picture shows that G.P.S.'s can be distracting while driving.  They caution drivers that it is dangerous to operate them while in route, but many people do not heed their warning.

G.P.S.

Many people have begun to depend entirely on a G.P.S. to get to their destination.  There are people who cannot get around their hometown without a G.P.S. because they have grown up with it since they began driving.  G.P.S.'s were designed to help aid with directions, not completely diminish the need for a sense of direction.

On top of this, it is a major distraction to drivers.  Every G.P.S. informs its users that it is dangerous to operate them while driving, but most drivers to not heed this warning.  Just as with texting and driving, operating a G.P.S. while driving takes the driver's eyes off the road.  Even if this lose of concentration only lasts for a split second, it can still cause an accident.

Video Games (cont.)

Video Games

In recent years, video games have become one of the most popular sources of entertainment, especially among younger people. Kids and teenagers are growing up with much more access to violence in movies and in video games than ever before. Unlike movies, video games are interactive and invite players to commit the acts of violence. Due to their growing popularity, more people are being exposed to violence than ever before. The latest Call of Duty game, Black Ops, had the highest ever profit in its first five days of  any entertainment release, including all movies and books. Call of Duty also happens to be one of the most intense and violent games available.  In fact, many of the best selling games are M-rated and often very violent.

E-mail (cont.)

Email is a great productivity tool, right? Wrong! Email use is out of control. Employee relationships are breaking down because co-workers are avoiding face to face conversations and even phone conversations. They're hiding behind email.

The more email you send, the more you get. Employees everywhere are reporting that they are spending two hours per day dealing with email. Managers at one company in Liverpool, England estimates that its 6,000 employees send each other 40,000 messages a day.

Here are just a few of the negative consequences when co-workers send email instead of talking to one another:

-There is increased gossip and mistrust.

-Issues are not addressed and resolved quickly.

-Silos are formed creating an "us vs. them" work environment.

-Co-worker empathy decreases because employees are simply not getting to know each other.

-There is frequent miscommunication and misunderstanding.

Business leaders all over the world are concerned about email over-use and abuse and are taking a stand. "Never on Friday" is becoming a common theme where all internal email is banned every Friday.

You can establish a "no email" policy one day a week, even if your company doesn't establish an email ban.

-Meet with your co-workers face to face.

-Pick up the phone and call someone--a customer, co-worker or vendor.

-Get up and walk to another department to chat with members of the team with whom you deal.

-In sales? Get out to the field and meet with your customers.

Ironically, one executive sent an email to employees announcing the Friday email ban. He said he looked forward to not hearing from his employees but encouraged them to "stop by as often as they like!"

You could take the idea a step farther by introducing other "no technology" days such as no cell phones on Monday, no PDAs on Tuesday, no web surfing on Wednesdays and no memos on Thursday.

Imagine...people might actually start talking to each other again!

###

You have permission to reprint any of my articles in your newspaper, magazine, trade publication, at your Web site or in your ezine. All I ask is that you use the entire article, my byline and this identifier paragraph:

Debra J. Schmidt, a.k.a. "The Loyalty Leader"®, helps companies boost their profits by leading them to greater customer, employee and brand loyalty. You can subscribe to Debra's free email newsletter packed with loyalty tips at: www.TheLoyaltyLeader.com

Monday, November 22, 2010

E-mail

E-mail is one of the most common ways in which people communicate with each other in modern society. Some people spend the majority of their time each day sending and answering emails.  The problem that exists with e-mails is the fact that they are not expected to be grammatically correct, so people use poor grammar and shortened words.  Many people also hide behind their e-mails and use it as an alternative to face-to-face communication.  Because of this, many people have poor communication skills. In today's society, many people have it set up so that they receive their e-mail on their phones.  People have become so dependent on e-mail that they need to know the second they receive an e-mail.

Internet Search Engines (cont.)


This is a screen shot of a Wikipedia page that we edited, proving that anyone can edit Wikipedia. Obviously, it is incorrect, proving that not everything found on the internet is true.

Internet Search Engines

Internet search engines, such as Google and Yahoo, are easy and convenient ways to find nearly any information available on the internet. Unfortunately, many people overuse these resources to the point of complete dependence. As a result, they no longer think that it is necessary to have the same general knowledge as before. Whenever a question or problem occurs, people rely on internet search engines; therefore, they don't have to actually know anything, as long as they have access to these search engines. Although this seems to be ideal, much of the information that is found on the internet is not accurate.  Wikipedia, for example, is a website than many people use for answers to their questions, but it is also a website that anyone can access and edit the information.

Cell Phone Use (cont.)





As shown in the picture above, texting while driving is becoming increasingly more popular.  It is very dangerous because it distracts drivers from concentrating on the road and their surroundings.

Cell Phone Use

Cell phone use is another form of technology that has negative effects on society. Like social networking, texting causes users to over abbreviate their words.  Many people also loose their basic grammer skills because they are constantly using poor grammar in their text messages. When people spend too much time using texting as a form of communication as opposed to talking face-to-face, they run the risk of losing some of the basic social skills required to have an actual conversation.

The biggest concern in today's society dealing with cell phone use is texting while driving.  This action has resulted in many car accidents and deaths that could've been avoided.  Many states are implementing laws against texting while driving, although this doesn't stop the majority of teenagers.  If more people realized the effects this is having on society, they might think twice before answering a text message while driving.

Social Networking Sites (cont.)







































As you can see in this screen shot of a facebook page, the grammar and spelling is very much incorrect.

Social Networking Sites

Social networking sites are sites such as facebook, myspace, friendster, and e-harmony which allow people to communicate with others, of whom they may or may not actually know in real life.  These sites cause people to become less social in real life because they don't have to have real social skills.  They depend on words, not actual expressions, to communicate.  Also, people who use these sites use compromised grammar and spelling.

Many people distort their image on sites like these to boost their self esteem.  They may use fake pictures, fake information, or create completely fake accounts altogether.  People act differently when they are protected by the walls of their own home.  Many people say things on sites such as these that they would never say face-to-face.

Introduction

Hi!

We are creating this blog for our English 103 class at Clemson University. Our purpose of writing this is to express the negative effects of technology on society.

Some of the specific types of technology that we will be discussing include:

Social Networking
Cell Phone Use
Internet Search Engines
E-mail
Video Games
G.P.S.
Television

At the conclusion of our blog, we will discuss some solutions to the problems at hand.  We hope our blog makes you pay closer attention to the extent at which you depend on technology. 

-Casey, Billy, Garry