Technology and Happiness - 1123 Words

Technology and Happiness James Surowiecki In the 20th century, Americans, Europeans, and East Asians enjoyed material and technological advances that were unimaginable in previous eras. In the United States, for example, gross domestic product per capita tripled from 1950 to 2000. Life expectancy soared. The boom in productivity after World War II made goods better and cheaper at the same time. Things that were once luxuries, such as jet travel and long-distance phone calls, became necessities. And even though Americans seemed to work extraordinarily hard, their pursuit of entertainment turned media and leisure into multibillion-dollar industries. By most standards, then, you would have to say that Americans are better off now than they†¦show more content†¦These are all phenomena that make people consciously unhappy. But for the most part, modern critiques(è ¯â€žÃ¨ ® º)of technology have focused not so much on specific, bad technologies as the impact of technology on our human relationships. Privacy has become increasingly fragile(易ç ¢Å½Ã§Å¡â€ž)in a world of linked databases. In many workplaces, technologies like keystroke monitoring and full recording of phone calls make it easier to watch workers. The notion that technology disrupts relationships and fractures community gained mainstream prominence as an attack on television. Some even say that TV is chiefly responsible for the gradual isolation of Americans from each other. Similarly, the harmful effects of the Internet, which supposedly further isolates people from what is often called â€Å"the real world†. This broad criticism of technology’s impact on relationships is an interesting one and is especially relevant to the question of happiness, because one of the few things we can say for certain is that the more friends and the closer relationships people have, the happier they tend to be. Today, technological change is so rapid that when you buy something, you do so knowing that in a few months there’s going to be a better, faster version for the product, and that you’re going to be stuck with the old one. Someone else, in other words, has it better. It’s as if disappointment were built into acquisition from the very beginning. Daily stress, an annoyingShow MoreRelatedFahrenheit 451 : Technology And Happiness1177 Words   |  5 Pages There is no question that science and technology is as essential to functioning in an advanced society as soil is essential for a flower. In numerous communities, technology is so often an asset to be yearned for. 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