Technology is progressing faster than imagination in our society. The things humans are creating are mind altering. Technology is what makes our society progress, and it has the ability to send our world into the next generation, but at what cost? There are so many positives about the growing technological world, people do not seem to worry about the pitfalls. The pitfalls might be fewer in quantity but have the ability to be stronger in reality.

Our youth is growing up with all kinds of gizmos and gadgets that allow them to see the world and learn about it, but it happens through a screen. This is something I like to call vicarious living. We are all so glued to the screens in our palms and in front of our faces, we forget to stop and take in the actual world. The more technology grows, the more the tendency there is for us to look past the natural world. This takes away from the authenticity of life. Instead of creating humanoid robots, we have become them.

The way we communicate over the past 20 years has changed remarkably. Instead of going out and trying to meet real people face to face, we decide to just look them up on social media. When a person sees a profile or account, they start to make an instant judgement about him or her. Just like that, an assessment of a person has been made without every actually meeting, talking or connecting with said person. Making these unjustified assessments may lead to one missing out on meeting their soulmate or best friend just because they did not like how someone’s account looked.  

Social media has become so powerful people live and die by it, literally. The instant access of people provided by Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, etc., has consumed young people. It has become so real to some, they devote their lives to getting friends and followers rather than going and trying to meet real people in the real world. This is because those friends and followers artificially fill the void of real world people. These kids think they are happy, but they don’t know why.

“I have more followers than him so I must be cooler than him.” This is the attitude our youth has adopted, so much so the kid who has fewer followers begins to feel depressed and lonely, and why? A number on a screen! This is why cyberbullying is such a big problem. These things are so real to these kids, they allow it to dictate their attitude and the manner in which they live. To some, it becomes the most real thing they have ever had — and it is artificial.

The enjoyment of real life is much greater than the enjoyment of the Internet. There just needs to be a push to get kids off their phones and computers and actually give the real world a go. Technology is a need of our society, but it is also a burden. We all have the ability to end the burden, but it starts within each individual. The decision needs to be made to stop living vicariously and to take on the natural world.