Is technology really just making us busier?
Posted Jan 15, 2010 By Angela Stairs
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With the steady advances in technology we are constantly exposed to more information, faster. Though on one hand this is making things easier, it's also raising expectations for the amount of work we should be able to get done in a given amount of time.
Take school, for example. You would think technology has made things easier for everyone, but really, it has just raised the bar to the point where teachers almost expect us to be masters of every domain.
I had to do a documentary for my English class earlier this year and it was quite the endeavor. I edited that thing for at least 10 hours straight - not to mention the time it took to organize scenes and record everything - when I could have pounded out an essay in three hours flat.
It's just annoying that now we're expected to be able to use programs like this.
I suppose programs have become a lot more user-friendly, however it still took me a good chunk of time to figure out what in God's name I was doing.
Apparently, all this work stems from the teachers wanting to 'make things interesting.' I mean, I would be just as happy writing a plain, old essay and being done with it. Why must we make things so difficult?
Difficult times
Technology has made many things more difficult.
Take cheating on tests, for example - that has even got more difficult...not that I've ever done it or anything. Though it may seem the contrary, I shall enlighten you.
The good old days of passing little crumpled up pieces of paper to each other under desks have passed. Now we just send a little text and all good, they don't even have to be in the same class.
The problem is, the teachers know about it. I passed my friend a ripped-up piece of paper in class earlier this year and she just stared at me and asked me if I was a fifth grader - as if I should be texting. I wasn't even trying to cheat it just seemed easier than texting, which 'violates school rules.'
The teachers know - they're watching for your phones. Crumpled up pieces of paper used to be so much easier, it looked like you were just writing on your test, then you just throw it over without anybody noticing, instead of looking into your lap for five minutes trying to configure a text. I say we go back to pieces of paper guys, they won't see it coming.
Assignments are also more difficult for students to get out of nowadays - when something is late, you don't just get to hand it in when you get back to class. No, you have to send it to your teacher's email account by the next day.
I'm not saying I'm backing up kids not handing in their work on time, but it's just that a long time ago (when our parents were in school), kids could catch a break and get a little extra time for their assignment - how else was it going to get done?
Were you going to drive to your teacher's house on Saturday morning to drop off your work? I don't think so.
But I do suppose even though it has done its part to make us busier, technology is pretty amazing. Before now - I'm talking a long time ago - something like relaying a message to a friend would take weeks, even months, climbing the mountain side on horseback. Now, it's as simple as the click of a button. Around the world and back in five seconds - mind blowing.
Angela Stairs is a high school student currently undertaking a co-op placement with the EMC.
