Technology Equals Man's Extinction?

How many of us have taken our senses for granted? I know I have. To be able to touch, hear, taste, see, and smell allows one to freely enjoy what the world has to offer. However, if one of these five sense were absent, how would a person function? Some might say better given that the absence of one sense tends to fine-tune the remaining like in Helen Keller's case. Yet technology is just as responsible for the de-evolution of man because the longer we sit in front of a seventeen-inch wide screen, the more our senses are compromised by our technologically dominating environment. Man's natural senses as a result are gradually affected over time via the intrusive quality of the Internet and like media.

However the evolution of the digital age can help man to enjoy life as well. For example, we can locate information faster than ever before with the convenience of the Internet, even if some of the personal effort in locating is compromised with the click of a mouse. Now only if the Internet could wire me a cheeseburger, a small fry, and a Coke. In addition, palm pilots, mp3 players, and cell phones allow a fast paced society to multitask like individuality doesn't exist. On a positive note, digital programming improves hearing aids and artificial vision. Yet if we are constantly immersed in a liquid-plasma reality, won't we eventually need these aids to help us function anyway?

Loss of eye-hand coordination due to the Internet and like media is a potential pitfall threatening our future as the human race. Case in point is children will have a harder time in school if they have been bred on PC video games, for that seemingly innocent plastic mouse won't help them to color inside the lines nor to cut on the dotted line. In short, as the growth of the Internet marches on, there is also the danger of losing some of these precious functions we take for granted like hearing. There is much truth in the saying, "If you don't use it, you lose it."

Movement into the twenty-first century equates with movement into the Information Age. Given that people are going to surf the Web for the least of all convenience, developing some self-control in lieu of this change will ultimately help everything that matters from relationships to personal health. Yet the question remains as to the power of some of these applications. What if the Internet and new media over-rides the human population to the point of making the common man obsolete? This may sound like science fiction, but artificial intelligence is just that, artificial. Perhaps we need to reconsider the convenience of technology, seeing that man is irreplaceable.