Adrianna Parent

Mr. Dudas
11 February 2015
Senior Composition, Period 7
Compare/Contrast Essay
Technology in the Modern World
Today technology can be just as addicting as any drug. People can't seem to make it
through the day without checking their emails, Facebook, text messages, Twitters, and so on.
The same technology that can cause addictions like this can also be helpful. It's easier than
ever to find information and stay involved in what's happening around the world. Though
technology can cause many problems in the world, used responsibly it is a positive tool. William
Powers in Hamlet's Blackberry and Nicholas Carr in "Is Google Making Us Stupid" agree that
technology has its disadvantages as well as its merits.
In Hamlet's Blackberry, William Powers makes it a point to show the immense need our
society has developed for technology. It is no longer a life enhancement, now it's a necessity for
happiness. Cell phones are attached to people at the hip; it's hard to go to a restaurant and not
see someone ignoring the people they came with in favor of looking at their phone. It's a shame
that society has come to condone this behavior, and even see it as normal. William Powers'
suggestion to all people is to cut back on the amount of time we spend on technology. Not to
completely stop using it, but to limit how much one depends on it. Leaving time for other things
besides technology let's people create stronger bonds with each other, and can make their lives
feel less rushed and busy all the time. Creating good habits like this helps to limit the deplorable
habits people make when they're under the influence of the technology addiction. Powers'
dreads the day where people no longer have actual face to face contact, but they only talk to
each other on screens or maybe even not talk to each other at all. William Powers makes the
point of saying "It's good to be connected and bad to be disconnected" (Powers 44). This shows
the dependence that society has on technology. If they aren't connected, they don't know how to
function.
In "Is Google Making Us Stupid" Nicholas Carr reminds the reader how bad too much
technology can be both for society as a whole and for individuals. Nicholas Carr states, "The
internet, an immeasurably powerful computing system, is submersing most of our other
intellectual technologies" (McQuade 637). This tells of society's addiction to the internet. It can
answer any question in a matter of seconds. That instant gratification is what makes the Internet
so fascinating. Though it can inform the public about an almost unlimited number of topics, this
speedy quick answering system makes our information recall somewhat unnecessary. Why
would anyone commit to memory some information if they could just look it up whenever they
needed? The overload of technology has fried our brains. It almost brings into question if in the
future we will even be considered conscious beings. We take so many of our thoughts straight
from the Internet, that we're losing the ability to think for ourselves. Original thoughts are
extremely hard to come by nowadays. The ability to read long books and articles is slowly but
surely disappearing. Now, what people do is jump from article to article, not reading more than a
paragraph or two of anything before becoming bored and moving on. Our attention span has

shortened considerably. And we have become oblivious to the people around us and get sucked
in to the oblivion that is the Internet. We have taken what used to be a luxury and turned it into a
necessity for life. Something that was once used less than libraries is now almost impossible to
live without. Schools, employers, and even social interactions now depend on technology to
function.
Both authors seem to agree that technology in the world today is overused and dangerous
to relationships between people. A major difference between their messages is that Power's
focuses more on the relationships between people while Carr puts more effort into showing how
technology has started to take away from our normal brain function. William Powers
emphasizes the human aspect, how people are starting to have better relationships with their
phones than with the people around them. Nicholas Carr on the other hand emphasizes how the
easy access to information is hurting our knowledge retention. The other significant difference is
that William Powers offers the reader suggestions on how to deal with the so called addiction to
technology. He tells the reader to make good habits, to limit time using technology, and
especially to not forget that older technology still has it's virtues too. Both authors tell the reader
to beware of the propaganda that is everywhere in the world, telling consumers to get the
newer, better, faster, smarter technology. They also warn against living with your technology in
close proximity to you all the time. The authors make points to show how living that way will one
day destroy society.
Overall the authors have different examples and points of view in their writing. Nicholas
Carr has a very pessimistic outlook on technology, mostly highlighting what the problems are
with it, and William Powers has a more optimistic view. He gives examples of ways we could
improve on our dependence on technology and he also highlights the positive aspects of
technology. William Power's gives a more balanced piece of writing showing the negatives and
the positives and how to make the two work together, The final message they send to their
readers however, is very similar. They both agree that technology is good, but only in a way
where it enhances instead of overtakes our lives. It should be used to add meaning, not to
become the meaning.
Works Cited
McQuade, Donald, and Robert Atwan. "Is Google Making us Stupid." The Writer's Presence: A
Pool of Readings. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000. N. pag. Print.
Powers, William. Hamlet's Blackberry: A Practical Philosophy for Building a Good Life
in the Digital Age. New York: Harper, 2010. 111+. Print.