Technology has evolved at a faster rate than our own human race and our sense of respect for mankind. Corporate America has bought in to technology equating convenience with higher production and cheaper costs. But technology itself seems to evolve mainly as a convenience for the masses. 

Corporate America does not appear to nurture the idea of valuing the people who work for them.  They force individuals to work as an autonomous collective.  They use technology to aid in this ethic.  The corporate world has replaced workers with computers.  They are cheaper, faster, and can work till they die or are replaced.  The money that is involved in the hiring of a computer is far cheaper than that of a person.  It has a flat cost as a minimum but may be upgraded and built for a specific purpose. Retirement pay, heath benefits, overtime, sick leave, and maternity leave are not words associated with technology.  Technology does have a downfall.  It’s only as good as the individual operating it.  Soon there won’t be a need for an operator and the position once filled by a warm body will be cut.  Yes, it aids in the movement of information and allows an individual to have control over a lot of information.  But at what cost to us as a society?  Once thought of as a convenience it is now considered a nuisance. 

Each day we wake up, another aspect of technology is developed.  It is evolving at an exponential rate.  It is enveloping our world faster than we can adjust to it.  There are endless controversies about how we are using our newfound knowledge.  Is mankind ready for these changes, especially when they happen in such a rapid process?  There is more evidence to show the growth of computers and gadgets than the evolution of the human body.  When a computer is developed and manufactured it is all ready obsolete.  Humans on the other hand show little or no sign of evolutionary change.  In fact with each new birth we seem to face a new threat to our existence.  Faced with many of the problems that have plagued mankind for centuries, we still have not developed a natural reaction to deal with them.  In fact much of today’s technologies have caused some of our newest health concerns.  Technology solves much of our problems but in return infests our lives and culture with new ones.  High-powered electrical lines have been linked to some heath concerns as well as cellular phone are linked with brain tumors.  Manufactures of technology also cause other problems with the by products which are created during the production process.  Yet we have not become developed enough to handle the physical consequences linked with these advances.  It almost seems as though our physical evolution has been stopped.  The cause of this pause maybe our abilities to learn about diseases and treat them with an unnatural, technological method.  The theory of “survival of the fittest” has been replaced with “survival of the smartest”.  If you can out smart Mother Nature rather than trying to fight her you will guarantee your survival in our society. So it seems that our evolution is based on an intellectual level rather than a physical one.  We as a society value the physical presence in society.  Although we have an intellectual benefit to society we recognize the physical presence as the individual.  It’s a shame not everyone treasures the physical presence of mankind.    

            How often do you call a company and get to talk to a real person?  The technology, which has given us more time, has taken respect away from us.  Technology is supposed to make things faster and easier.  That’s its selling point.  But right from the beginning with the invention of the telephone, we have lost respect for our fellow Americans.  Picture this; you’re in a conversation with someone and the phone rings.  What happens?  They stop the conversation with you and pick up the phone.  They completely ignore you, showing you that a person not even in the room is more important than you.  It’s says that what might be on the other end of the line is more important than your present conversation.  Communication has lost touch with humanity.  No longer is there a personal touch.  That certain smile or laugh that one has to see.  Personal contact has been replaced by email and faxes.  Where is the humanity in that? Not only have we lost touch with each other but ourselves as well.  In the stress and pressure of everyday life there are newer developments each day that increase something we treasure, free time. Yet the time we save is still not our own.  We have more time now to spend at work using more gadgets to save more time to allow us to get more work done.  It’s a never-ending cycle of getting more work done with less time and support.

Many of these improvements are disguised by a catch phrase, time management, which is easily justified by society. Or in fact is this just a representation of how competitive our capitalist nature is and depicting how everyone is trying to survive and advance to the highest level possible. Technology has replaced an ability to think for one’s self.  Man and machine are no longer separate entities.  When work is needed and free thought isn’t, than man is replaced.  It’s as though the children today can be thought of as futuristic animal trainers.  Their subjects now to be taught how to basically train and manipulate a computer to work at optimum efficiency.  Where will this leave us in the future?  What’s the point of having a physical presence in society?  One day will we be plugged into a computer to flee our bodies surfing an Internet based society?  These questions lead me to think we may lose human contact.  It’s something, which has been a key to our survival and culture.  Technology has started to wear down our respect for humanity.