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Technology impoverishes the mind, and it is a detriment to the long term well being of the human race. It is well stated by Plato that with the onset of written word mankind's ability to remember has declined. This is true on the broadest sense and is now in recent years more obvious with the advent of technology. Furthermore not only is memory effected, but because of the massive wave of written garbage and unedited material views provided by technology, the human ability to cognate has been stunted.

It would be almost clich at this time to mention the fact that mankind has evolved to this point without the help of technology in the slightest, and now, only three or four generations hence we find ourselves in a state of crisis because of it. Overpopulation and pollution are reshaping our environments, schooling is biased and the best only available for the relatively elite. Moreover, on the individual level specifically, technology is destroying the nature of knowledge. Like the brass rings of the Padaung woman which can stretch the neck to unnatural proportions; once those rings are removed the neck falls limp. The same goes for technology and the mind. We may speed things up immediately for some, however that speed comes at a price and those who are lucky enough to benefit from cheap technology become reliant upon it.

A upper middle class suburban kid has the pleasure of the world's information at his fingertips, the internet defines our current reality. This internet however acts more as a detriment then an advantage. The internet has become a cesspool of worthless information, and technology allows the mindless perusing and storing of this information. At this point no learning or revelation takes place, there is only passive absorption of information no active learning.

Guidance is blurred by countless sources of influence. From the television to the cell phone to the chat room, both children and adults alike are mentally disjointing as opposed to connecting. Community has become a word of the past, and interactions among those immersed in technology (like here in the USA) are turning human conversations into chaotic and nonsensical sound bites.

Learn more about this author, Justin Mitchell.
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