Response to "From Pencils to Pixels"

After reading Dennis Baron’s “From Pencils to Pixels”, I was made quite aware of how much I take technology for granted. We may think, “How was it possible for people to live without this and that?” I believe the better question for us to think about is, “Do we really need our computers and cell phones to ‘survive’?” The obvious answer should be, “No.” but rarely do we think that way. We think of how much of a hassle it would be without these objects of communication rather than truly appreciating the ease of the tasks done with our new technology.

When Baron was explaining how handwriting a short memo was “constricting” and “overwhelming”, I could easily relate to that. I am pretty confident that most of my generation has never written a full paper by hand. If so, I believe them to be out of the norm. When will handwriting become a lost technology, like that of the vinyl records and beta tapes, even VHS tapes? I don’t think that I will ever see the day when handwriting becomes obsolete, but I am confident that pencils and pens will become a rarity in years to come. Perhaps these “old technologies” such as pens and pencils will only be used to formally sign paperwork, but nothing else.

I thought that it was very perceptive of Baron to say that we adapt our lives to the technology that surrounds us. This is entirely true. Think of the vernacular that has been created from technology.

“I’ll Google it.”

“We’re Facebook friends.” Meaning that you are not really his/her friend, merely an acquaintance.

It is quite obvious that technology affects our vocabulary and the way we think. The whole point of technology, at least what I have come to learn about it, is to make the user’s life easier. Some people believe that technology has made people lazy, which is probably true.

How many people handwrite letters anymore? Not many. Why waste time writing a letter, finding an envelope for it, and then going out to purchase a stamp, when you can get the same task done by quickly typing up what you want to say and clicking send?

It also amazes me how impersonal communication has become. I can’t imagine a day-in-age when people thought that talking on the telephone was not at all personal. To me, that is second-best to talking to a person face-to-face. By easing the forms of writing, does it in turn remove personality from the communication?