INTRO:
Gulf News readers debate on our Facebook page on whether the advancement in technology is making people dumber. We received an overwhelming response from our readers, expressing their stand on the issue. We present a selection of their views.
Forgotten information
Having worked in the technology sector, I can guess where it is leading us to (“Technology is making people dumber”, Gulf News, August 26). We spent most of our childhood with friends, parents and relatives. When we get to know people, we are bound to respect their feelings. Technology has now created a virtual race where we spend most of our time trying to win. From a three-year-old child to a 60-year-old veteran, everyone is in this race. In the process, we are not respecting our fellow humans. We think we know everything, when in reality we don’t. We are busy learning about things that are least important. A wise person is the one who knows the correct balance between life and technology. A game on social media will take up most of our time – time that could be spent having a productive conversation with someone. Technology has made us impatient and we expect immediate results from everything, which makes us less intelligent. While we learn about how advanced technology has become, we forget the basics. A lot of experts in the field of technology don’t even remember the basics after a point in time. Thus, a lot of information will never be passed on to the next generation. How many people of the younger generations know how a camera that requires a film or reel works? Most of them may never have even seen such a camera! The issue is that none of us want to learn where we came from and that is what makes us dumber.
From Mr Rajesh Loganathan
UAE
No calculators
Let people calculate without a calculator. Then you will know how dumb we have become!
From Mr Syed Ahmad Masnabi
UAE
Reaching out
I agree with the statement. Why? Do a survey asking people if they read beyond a headline before they comment on a story. If a post isn’t an image file, people simply do not read. Instant gratification is the order of the day – beyond that, there really isn’t much hope of reaching people.
From Ms Aisha Schwartz
UAE
Gaining knowledge
Obviously it is wrong to think that technology is making people dumber. Due to the technological advancements, people are able to learn about new things every day. I’ve noticed that nowadays people of all ages have learnt things about technology. In fact, it is technology that has made our lives easier and much more efficient. In my opinion, people have gained a lot of knowledge with the help of technology.
From Ms Fari Shahid
UAE
Replacing teachers
A very wise teacher once asked me, what is the difference between education and knowledge? I believe technology has made us lazy, even though it helps a lot. It helps in increasing the knowledge of a person, how much he or she is aware of in the world. But, imagine how would it be to replace teachers with technology to educate students? I think the brain is far more superior than technology.
From Mr Mohammad Beloushi
UAE
Lazy generation
I think technology should be restricted to certain limits, especially for growing children. Nowadays every child I see is addicted to either a tablet or a smartphone. More than older people, it is ruining the future generation. Physically activities have reduced. Once upon a time you could see children playing around, hurting themselves and getting tired. But, now I can see more and more children with glasses on and, due to their addiction, a lot of children have started suffering from migraines and other illnesses. It is actually making people lazy. I do agree that it makes life easier, but at the same time it is reducing the lifespan of a person.
From Mr Shakeel Amreen Chowdhury
UAE
Bringing us closer
I strongly disagree with the statement. Technology and invention never make people dumber. In fact, they make people more knowledgeable. Technology changes with time. We have to accept the changes and use technology properly. Earlier, we used to send letters to our relatives in our home countries and had to wait for at least 10 days to get news from them. Now we just dial a number and instantly get the news as well as a picture from our family. Those who think technology is making us dumber should now judge themselves and see if they are clever or dumb.
From Ms Archana Sen
UAE
Knowledge
I think it is making the younger generation smarter than ever. This is because every child is surrounded by technology and has so much knowledge that we didn’t have even when we graduated from school.
From Mr Abdul Rahman Kazakh
Dubai
Use it wisely
Technology doesn’t make people dumber. I think every child in every school is given a tablet these days and I’m sure everyone uses search engines online to search any information. We can find so much information regarding so many topics on the internet. However, we should not become a slave to technology, but use it wisely.
From Ms Anupriya D Budhwani
UAE
Worth it
You cannot generalise. Sometimes technology is worth it because it can be used to save time, but on the other hand it can also be a nuisance. I personally love technology because it is worth it for me.
From Ms Nasim Vahania
UAE
Online forums
Would it have been possible for us to debate on this issue on this forum without technology? No, of course not. Then why are people trying so hard to point out the drawbacks of technology?
From Mr Asif Ellahi
Dubai
Smartphones
Allow people to live without their smartphone for one day. Then you will get an idea of how dumb one can be.
From Ms Rathi Samuel
UAE
Spelling errors
Due to technology, people are now unable to spell or write words properly. It isn’t making people dumber, just lazy.
From Ms Caroline Wareham
UAE
Self study
I became wiser and learnt many things with the help of technology – things that school couldn’t teach me. Thanks to the internet, I devoted my time to self-education by reading e-books, listening to audio books and watching educational videos.
From Ms Bethany Galendo
UAE
Calculators
We are in a world of internet and technology. For things like simple arithmetic we now depend on calculators and do not use our mind. I am a student and I depend more on calculators when it comes to arithmetic. If we have been given homework the students prefer to Google all the information rather than doing any research.
From Mr Prateek Ahuja
Dubai
Ignorant
I disagree on this matter. Technology is a way of keeping the world and its people afloat. What makes people dumber is only the foolishness of their own mind, especially when they believe that they know everything and don’t want to learn the ins and outs of the so called ‘technology’ and its concerns.
From Mr Mwamfupe Anyisile
UAE
Effortless
Earlier, people needed to visit a library and read books from scratch to learn more and as we read we would find more interesting facts. However, nowadays we just click away on our computers and have all the information. This is effortless and in my opinion counts as spoonfeeding.
From Ms Beverly Santos
UAE
Staying indoors
I agree with the statement. For instance, when we don’t remember how to spell a word correctly, we rely on technology. Children don’t play outdoors anymore, but instead they prefer to play games on the internet. However, Ms Beverly Santos has mentioned an important point that the quality of education has deteriorated as information available on the internet is held sufficient for today’s generation.
From Mr Abdul Wahab
UAE
Smarter people
I do not agree, in fact technology helps us get the required information at the click of a button. Technology is meant to help and reduce the time we spend looking for something or make things convenient. It helps us to be smarter and does not dictate or rule over us.
From Ms Shajitha Shifa
Dubai
Telephone numbers
Earlier we used to memorise people’s telephone numbers. Now, some of us don’t even remember our own telephone numbers!
From Ms Grace Rone Waheed
UAE
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