Reading Response

In “Refusing to Hope in a God of Technology”, Jeff Dietrich states that people are too readily accepting technology and will soon forget what face-to-face communication is like. I agree with this. The world only looks at the convenience and benefits that technology brings, we ignore the negative affects. Dietrich also talks about how all this constant changing will leave the poor behind. I believe this is true as well. We cannot possibly expect everyone to be able to keep up with the ever-changing technology. What happens when the intelligent, middle to lower-class individuals aren’t allowed, or able to express their opinions or to be of the technological age we are in? They are left out or at least discouraged. As and example, in high school I wrote a lot of papers, essays, and had to do other activities that were computer related. Most of my teachers would not accept essays that were not typed. A child without access to a computer outside of school would have a hard time completing these assignments. These children would be forced to finish their assignments in class, which would lessen the quality of their work by rushing them to get things done. Also, another problem students face is motivation. If a child has to choose between hurrying to get something done or not getting it done, they are less likely to get their assignments done. While it would be hard for schools to receive enough funding to give every child a laptop or computer, it is the only way to level the playing field for all students. America should be concerned about this. This country should be about including everyone, having equal rights and opportunity. This is not to say that technology should be rejected or shunned. It is a major advantage and convenience for the world. We should accept it, but not rely on it as much as we do now. We can use technology and reap the benefits of it but we need to also be prepared for the negative repercussions and work to provide access to everyone. Technology can be a good thing if we use it the right way.

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