Several facets of human existence have shown the aspect of change and transformation. Technology is just one of many variables that has a bigger impact on how people interact with one another. Today's technology has a greater impact on how people go about their daily lives. Many people find themselves in a situation where they believe they need technology to survive. How beneficial has technique been to us and what have we won or lost should be the questions we should be asking ourselves. Technology has influenced how people perceive, speak, and interact with one another. The essay, therefore, will explore the theme of change, on how people, economic classes, and neighborhoods change over time. The article that I will base my argument on is, Is Facebook Making Us Lonely? Solitude, Clyburn Park, and Dreams Deferred and Derailed.
The article Is Facebook Making Us Lonely? Outlines that social media through Twitter, Facebook, and several other App has made us more connected than ever. However, despite all the connectivity, studies have shown that the same technology is making us lonelier than before, and this kind of loneliness is turning us to be physically and mentally sick. Technology is changing people to live in isolation, a situation which is unimaginable to our ancestors, and surprisingly, we are not reachable. Following the last three decades, development of technology has given us a world in which we desire not to be out of it even a single minute. The more connected we are, the lonelier we become. Facebook is making us distance ourselves from one another, hence making us live in isolation. Facebook is doing many people a pleasure whose kind of profundity we are underestimating; a chance of forgetting about ourselves for a moment, an opportunity to disconnect. A person may have several followers on social media, but in the real sense, loneliness takes the center stage of that individual. Relationships in the family have gone down. People are too close to one another but far from each other due to social media. An indication of how Facebook has changed and transformed on how people operate.
There is also change and transformation of language due to technology. In the article solitude, it points out that emojis and emoticons are scratching out our voices and offering a comprehensive list of feelings instead. Not that there are enough words to express ourselves, in fact, there are so many words, but people prefer not to use them. Instead, they use emojis. The shining species of emojis that have been in place may act as the Astroturf of the literary expression. The expressions are implacable and shiny, and therefore they are incapable of producing an offense while communicating. People stick to them since they fear that their voices will get them into some trouble. If they utilize their own words during communication, they fear that the internet will misinterpret and twist their voices. The article points that close to thirty years now after the invention of smiley, the heart emojis and happy face make up more compared to half of the emojis used. Not puppies, not the beer mugs, not dollar signs, the primary concern is people to understand that their intentions are pleasant.
People have changed and transformed over the years, even irrespective of technology. For instance, with the theme of racism in both the play Clyburn Park and Dreams Deferred Essay. Transformation is also taking place due to class divide. The book points out that high levels of material inequality are heightening and destabilizing the social tensions. Chair board of governors, Yellen points out from the article that difference ‘can determine and shape the capability of various groups to take roles equally in a democracy and have deadly effects on social stability over time.' Class divide brought by new inequality is politically considered to be poisonous since most individuals of all races feel stagnated in one place, and fail to understand that hard work, innovation and some sought of sacrifice are going to yield good results and better their lives. Individuals are always ready to look for someone to blame for their misfortunes, and the changing demographics of America are encouraging the racial division, antipathy of other entities and prejudice. These kinds of forces have brought the complication on the economic policymaking across the history, but appear to be risky currently, given the quick need of addressing the specific economic failures that face the people of color (Ellington 87).
The author points ought that institutions are growing out of a presumed lasting, politically foremost white majority. There is an existence of ‘toxic inequality,' a system which is unprecedented and powerful in a period of stagnated mobility that intersects with a broad racial wealth disparity. All of them are against the backdrop to change ethnic and racial demographics, the said kind of inequality is termed as toxic since, over time and the coming generations, it is building upon itself. Race and wealth are mapping together in consolidating the historical injustices, which are weave ring across house markets and neighborhoods, labor markets, and institutional education systems that creates a gradually divided opportunity structure. As long as we possess the entrenched kind of wealth disparity entangled with racial inequality, we can’t even start bending an ark toward the aspect of equity. The element of toxic disparities deemed noxious since it makes the outlined challenges hard to handle. Raised levels of material disparity appear to be inherently heightening, destabilizing the social tensions.
Thomas Piketty points out that enormously high levels of inequality appear to be incompatible together with the meritocratic principles and values of social justice basic to modern societies’. Further, he warns that the draft towards oligarchy is a real risk. The response of America towards toxic inequality will help in setting our next course for generations to come (Ellington 67). The new magnitude of bias is robbing the nation of human promise and potential, distorting futures and the sapping inspirations. Stalled social mobility and frustrated ambitions are fomenting the racial anxieties. Without taking bold changes, we will continue walking toward more significant inequality and render ourselves more polarized along ethnic and class lines.
Part B.
It is evident that from the readings that change and transformation is something brought by not only technology but other aspects such as race and inequality. Many people find themselves in a situation where they feel that they can’t survive without the use of technology. Technology has also influenced on how people talk, think and interact. It is evident that people can be too close to each other but mentally very far. Look at the world today; technology has given us a world in which we desire not to be out of it even a single minute. The more connected we are, the lonelier we become. Facebook is making us distance ourselves from one another, hence making us live in isolation. Interacting with close family members becomes a nightmare.
It is evident that even language has experienced some sought of change and transformation. We no longer use words to communicate. Not that we have run short of them, but people prefer using emojis in communication. People stick to emojis them since they fear that their voices will get them into some trouble. If they utilize their own words during conversation, they fear that the internet will misinterpret and twist their voices. I concur with this point since we have seen several cases where people have been judged by uttering some words that may harm others.
Not only technology that change and transform people. But also, some aspects of inequality and racial discrimination. Race and wealth are mapping together in consolidating the historical injustices, which are weave ring across house markets and neighborhoods, labor markets, and institutional education systems that creates a gradually divided opportunity structure. To end such an equality, we ought to stand up and take bold steps and question those policies that support inequality. It is a fact that failure to make a bold step in condemning the disparity of wealth, we will continue walking on the path of inequity and discrimination. Change and transformation are inevitable. However, we should be more careful about what we embrace as change and what should pass us since it is not essential.
Works Cited
Ellington, Duke. Solitude. Membran Music, 2004.
Shapiro, Thomas M. Toxic Inequality: How America's Wealth Gap Destroys Mobility, Deepens the Racial Divide, & Threatens Our Future. 2017.
---. Toxic Inequality: How America's Wealth Gap Destroys Mobility, Deepens the Racial Divide, & Threatens Our Future. Basic Books, 2017.
Song, Hayeon, et al. "Does Facebook make you lonely?: A meta analysis." Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 36, 2014, pp. 446-452.
Works Cited
Ellington, Duke. Solitude. Membran Music, 2004.
Shapiro, Thomas M. Toxic Inequality: How America's Wealth Gap Destroys Mobility, Deepens the Racial Divide, & Threatens Our Future. 2017.
---. Toxic Inequality: How America's Wealth Gap Destroys Mobility, Deepens the Racial Divide, & Threatens Our Future. Basic Books, 2017.
Song, Hayeon, et al. "Does Facebook make you lonely?: A meta analysis." Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 36, 2014, pp. 446-452.
