Technology: Is It Making Us Less Human Essay

Adam Wilson
Comp. 101
13 November, 2008
Technology and Humanity
Technology is an ever changing and often unpredictable frontier. Many would argue that as communication technology has advanced it has had a negative impact on our humanity, making us less human.   I don't sympathize with that notion; I argue that it improves the human condition.   Communication technology is an integral part of social life. Communication enriches the human experience by promoting unity, improving emergency response time, thereby saving lives, and has improved the quality of education.  
Unity amongst humans plays a key role in the preservation of the species. Ever since the first human set foot on Earth, they have had a natural curiosity; and, this curiosity is one of the defining elements of humanity. Through the lengthy voyages of such explorers as Magellan, Columbus and Cortez whose excursions lasted months if not years, humans have been expanding the boundaries of our collective knowledge. Today's journeys, however, do not remove the individual physically from his surroundings, and instead, thrusts him into a virtual land, where the discoveries of other cultures are mere moments away. Humans are a diverse group, and the meeting and sharing of one's culture and customs helps to foster a form of brotherhood and unity.
While communications has helped to unite the human race as a whole, it also helps strengthen familial bonds.   During America’s early days, communication was slow and often unreliable.   It could take several weeks for a letter to traverse the transcontinental mail system.   As America’s communication technology has improved, family members are never further away than a text message or an email.   When blessed events such as child birth, graduation or marriage occur within a family, the information, complete with pictures and streaming video can immediately be conveyed via the internet.    
Apart from bringing families and the world closer together, improving...