"Is Technology Good or Bad? Yes." by L. Gordon Crovitz

Is technology good or bad? yes. (2010, August 23) Retrieved April 4, 2011, from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703579804575441461191438330.html#articleTabs%3Darticle

Is Technology Good or Bad? Yes.

This article describes both the pessimistic and optimistic side of technology. Nicholas Carr argues that "the internet is changing how our brains work, figuratively and physiologically." His studies show that technology has lead us to read hurriedly, think with many distractions, and superficially learning. He even touched on the science of neuroplasticity,  which shows the brain changes in those who spend the majority of their time on the internet. Opposing
those ideas, Clay Shirky admits that people spend more time being entertained by meaningless television, but also concludes that a brief redirection to useful social media can be quite easy and important. He concludes that "what matters now is not the capabilities we have, but how we turn those capabilities, both technical and social, into opportunities." After reading the post, I agree with them both. The internet has opened many doors to knowledge, and has made it easier to access also. Unfortunately, there are also many websites, like stated in the article, lolcat.com, which doesn't contribute to the advances technology can create. Since there are both effective and ineffective inventions of technology, it shows that as advanced as technology has become, there is still a long way of improving ahead. No matter what, there are always going to be those websites that don't contribute to effective technology use, but that still doesn't undermine the positive advances there are.