E-mail and technology has opened up a new world to my generation. For most of my generation its fun and games. For others it can be addicting. I have been fortunate enough to ride the line of addiction and fun and games.
I will never forget as a child getting Internet in the fourth grade and waiting for AOL Kids to load. It was such an exciting thing to do after school. It was never a burden and I would never have dreamed up the things technology has allowed me to do since then. I would also never have thought I’d be so addicted to it.
This past week, I was sitting in class thinking I need to check my e-mail to see if I heard back from my professor. Or I wonder what celebrity is screwing up today that so I can check Perez Hilton. It is on days like this I realize that I may become addicted to technology.
Technology such as this was invented as a tool to help people better themselves, not become addicted.
Technology makes my life easier in everything from class schedules to assignments. As I watch my friends purchase iPhones and text like there is no tomorrow, I am thankful that I am somewhat technically challenged. The world of industry technology has become a way of life, a way of life that eventually I will have to join sooner rather than later.
Countless people I have crossed cannot bear to be apart from their cell phone or laptop and this is a trend among Americans today.
At the same time, others such as myself, have mixed feelings about technology. In my opinion, it is because we were not all raised to be reliant on technology and it’s a rather unhealthy trend.
Technology helps people advance in their careers because they can be the first one to hear the next big project or get their article out first to the press. I understand that, and it is something that eventually I will do as well. I personally feel very stressed out when I have to check my e-mail constantly and be on top of things all the time. I’m the kind of person that would prefer to a make a list and check things off, rather than shoot an e-mail out and wait for a response.
Technology has made Americans less personal. We carry on full conversations on with professors in e-mail when we could do the same in their office.
How are students supposed to form relationships if they can just send an e-mail? Written words can be taken all different kinds of ways and not always correct.
On the other hand, technology such as e-mail and text messaging is beneficial when staying in contact. My friends are scattered across the country and things such as AIM, Facebook and texting allow me to contact them and be up to date with their lives. This is also goes for my family as well.
E-mail is a savior for a girl who has family on the west coast; I can e-mail my aunt one afternoon and hear back from her within hours. That side of technology pleases me because there is no deadline and allows open communication.
As a sports fan, technology allows me to watch basketball games online, get text messages at half time and at the end of games. That is something I am very thankful for.
I am able to keep up with my team no matter where or who they are playing, I can rely on my text messaging or Internet access to get the game statistics or scores.
I am thankful for all that technology allows me to do daily and every basketball season, but when I am going crazy about e-mails then I realize I need to step away and just breathe.
This advancement has changed my life for the better and I only hope that in 10 years from now I’m not a crackberry addict.
