Is the Machine Using Us?

Behind Michael Wesch’s video production is the claim that writing is a technology and
that technology informs, limits, and changes the way we write, think, make social relationships, fall in love, and thrive as human beings. Consider whether or not you find this to be true. How powerful is writing? How powerful are the technologies (the machines) that we use to write? Is “the machine using us”?

In the last two to three decades, writing, and the way people express themselves, has changed greatly.   Writing is a technology, whether you still use a pen and paper or have upgraded to a computer to write your message, the way we write has drastically changed.  Handwritten letters and cards have been phased out, due to the Internet, e-mail and e-cards. The electronic devices we use to write with are extremely powerful. If you are typing a document in Microsoft Word, the program detects misspelled words and grammatical errors and automatically corrects them for the typist. Therefore, our children have little incentive to learn grammar, and their spelling is suffering as well. This has negatively impacted the youth of America. The machine is not using us, but we are over using the machine. In our technologically driven society, we would be lost without computers, cell phones, etc. The “Age of Technology” has made us too dependent on the machines. Technology can both improve and destroy relationships. It can bring long-distant friends together or can end a marriage because of leaked images and conversations on Facebook. Moreover, some say that “the pen is mightier than the sword”, meaning that words can be more harmful than actions.  With the technological advances in recent years, our privacy has been compromised and information can be obtained and spread with lightning speed.  As with all advances, we have to understand that while they can be used to perform wonderful deeds, in the wrong hands, they are potentially deadly.