Henry David Thoreau's Time On Technology

As a result of the fast changing world, people are losing sight of the simplicity of life. People in modern society concern themselves too much with gaining wealth and spending free time on technology. This could be a threat to a person’s ability to fully appreciate nature and to see their self worth. Henry David Thoreau, poet and writer, lived in the wilderness away from distractions to experience self discovery. Through this time, he discovered the importance of not allowing a modern society to distract oneself from nature and self exploration. Thoreau’s warnings of yesteryear are still relevant to today’s society. While working is very essential to provide necessities, Thoreau believed that people should avoid allowing work to consume …show more content…
Technology has grown substantially since Thoreau’s era. People today are spending too much time on their phones and playing videos games. This causes people to stay home during their free time and rarely leave the house unless they have to. This is completely different from earlier generations where people were essentially forced to be out in nature. Humans have moved from “[creeping] into a hollow in a rock for shelter” to now where most “know not what [it] is [like] to live in the open air” (pg. 994-995). Aside from practicing their religion and doing chores, there was nothing to do other than play outside. Thoreau saw this shift and believed that this was keeping people away from being one in nature. He suggests that if people would just set their distractions aside they could experience self discovery. These distractions keep people away from fully enjoying nature and live a simplistic life. It also shields them away from discovering who they are and their self …show more content…
In most religions, a person would practice their beliefs and uphold morals as to have an afterlife. Religions will suggest how one should live to reap benefits not only in this life but especially in the life to follow. Thoreau suggested that too much of one’s religion could affect how one lives in this life on earth. Being too concerned with what will happen in the afterlife can cause an individual to completely change dedicate their life to living a religious life. Thoreau advocates that people should have a healthy connection to their religion. People should not allow the fear of life after death to affect their happiness and self exploration here in this live. It should also not distract one from enjoying the beauty of the world. This small distraction could completely affect one 's outlook on life and completely steer them away from living life to the