Reflection for week 4

Do people surround themselves with technologies so they don’t have to “think” and “question” as much, or do technologies encourage people to “think” and “question” more? I’m on the fence with these questions because while I see current and potential benefits of technologies, I also see how they have made people lazy. Additionally, is it really laziness or do people expect technologies to be developed ongoing because they like the novelty of them? In my opinion it is both. I do feel computer-based technologies have the potential to serve as mindtools. However, I also see minivans with DVD players and children being taught to “zone-out” so Mom and Dad can drive. My point is that I think technologies, no matter their form, are motivating and debilitating at the same time. What has become main-stream to people today, was implausible over one hundred years ago. To think that my great-grandparents would not have had an automobile is inconceivable to me now. For the children I may have in the future, I can see them not able to image a world without laptops, cell phones, podcasts, and internet. People have come to rely heavily on technologies. While I applaud the innovative thinking, I also think that people are ultimately to blame for their own demise/laziness because of it. I believe my interactions with technologies are well balanced. I know enough about the technology areas in which I have interest and utilize them accordingly. However, if I do not have a real reason to use a type of technology, I do not go out of my way to buy it, use it, or pay attention to it. Is that wrong?