Alienation In The New Generation
1357 Words
6 Pages
A new, digital generation is rising, paving the way for a new information age for its members. These people are the members of a digital culture, living a lifestyle which relies on the use of new and advanced technology along with the Internet as a tool for communication and sharing information. Nevertheless, this new and advanced technology has also alienated the members of the new generation. Alienation is a sense of not belonging to one’s surroundings or environment. Conditions of alienation originate from the results of many situations. However, one of the most prominent situations is the isolation that results from an excessive use of technology and the Internet. Instances of alienation can be seen in many Internet articles, as well as
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For instance, instead of going swimming with a friend, one now reads on a website that one of their friends went swimming. This results in a disconnect, allowing for one to become alienated with the world one lives in. The more people change the world, the more the world becomes foreign for society, and the more people alienate themselves in such a world. For example, in John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, as the farmers of Oklahoma were forced to relocate to California because of dying crops and wither land, the newly created tractors now tore down the houses of the farmers. These tractors were driven by old neighbors, now hungry for money in hard times. This is expressed when Steinbeck says, “The man sitting in the iron seat did not look like a man; gloved, goggled, rubber dust mask over nose and mouth, he was a part of the monster, a robot in the seat (Steinbeck).” This quote explains that the tractors that once helped the farms farm the land, now turned against them, and instead destroyed their homes. It also shows how the men operating the tractor are now “robots” unable to see the value that was once on the land, and unable to see that what they were tearing down was once their own homes and backyards. Despite an ever growing and faster technological evolution, the promise that technology will pave the way for a utopia has not yet been achieved. As a result, a many people experience a feeling of nervousness about the technological presence and power that we have on the world. This makes it seem as though man has lost the ability to keep the balance of nature and technology
For instance, instead of going swimming with a friend, one now reads on a website that one of their friends went swimming. This results in a disconnect, allowing for one to become alienated with the world one lives in. The more people change the world, the more the world becomes foreign for society, and the more people alienate themselves in such a world. For example, in John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, as the farmers of Oklahoma were forced to relocate to California because of dying crops and wither land, the newly created tractors now tore down the houses of the farmers. These tractors were driven by old neighbors, now hungry for money in hard times. This is expressed when Steinbeck says, “The man sitting in the iron seat did not look like a man; gloved, goggled, rubber dust mask over nose and mouth, he was a part of the monster, a robot in the seat (Steinbeck).” This quote explains that the tractors that once helped the farms farm the land, now turned against them, and instead destroyed their homes. It also shows how the men operating the tractor are now “robots” unable to see the value that was once on the land, and unable to see that what they were tearing down was once their own homes and backyards. Despite an ever growing and faster technological evolution, the promise that technology will pave the way for a utopia has not yet been achieved. As a result, a many people experience a feeling of nervousness about the technological presence and power that we have on the world. This makes it seem as though man has lost the ability to keep the balance of nature and technology