"Nothing is ever simple anymore."

[Lauren Steates]

In the first couple pages of Distraction Fontenot says to Oscar, “Nothing is ever simple anymore.” I can’t help but think that this is the truth now and will continue to be the truth in the future. So is new technology making things simpler or more complicated?

It is no secret that technology is designed to make our lives easier. New advancements have made many tasks that used to be long and tedious much simpler. However, I think that technology has made life itself so much more complex. People now live busy life styles where they can get in their car and go from place to place. Kids no longer sit at home and read a book, but play video games, watch TV, and go from activity to activity.

So as new technology emerges, will our lives get crazier and crazier?

[Megan Morrissey-Kelley]

i think it's sort of one of those double edged sword type issues. Technology saves time, gives us the ability to do certain things more efficiently, as well as comes with it's own set of complicating factors. But, when i think about what the world was like before the introduction of the technology that i personally rely on--life seems more complicated in some ways. When i think about my job and school especially. i fell like every generation has kind of had that "good old days" phenomena present. The flip side is that in the good old days people died from illness and injury that is now treatable, premature babies had much higher mortality rates. By the time my kid grows up, he'll look back at at the archaic now of his childhood and think how simple life was...

[Jonathan Wolfe]

I don't think life has ever been simple, in general terms. The "good old days" seem more of an idealistic reflection than a reality. Perhaps as individuals, we can find inner peace, no matter what technology emerges; but society has, and always will be, complicated.

[Judith Piccione]

I agree completely, Jonathan. I actually just posted a very similar comment and then looked up and saw yours.

[Nicole Brady]

Study after study after study has shown that life is WAY more complicated now. A few years ago I remember reading a long article comparing a certain year (maybe in the 60's-I'll try to find the article online) to the present. Although we have more machines to do our work for us, we have way less down time than ever before. More people take their work home, their homes to work, and crave entertainment constantly, which replaces what used to be relaxation time. You'd think getting entertained is relaxing but I guess not. I gotta find the article and I'll post it here but yes, I would definitely say technology is definitely making our lives a lot more hectic.

[Judith Piccione]

I don't necessarily think that life is WAY more complicated now. Study or no study...every generation has had their share of life's stresses, don't you think?

[Nicole Brady]

I don't know... I definitely agree that every generation has their stresses. I just think now we are BOMBARDED with stresses. We also are a lot more knowledgeable.
I'm not saying I would rather have lived in the early 1900s or the 1800s. Life was hard. People woke early worked hard and died young. I can just see it being simpler as well. There were less choices so less "things" to fill the time.

[Brittany]

I also agree with Megan, that technology is a double edged sword. In many ways technology has helped, and in many ways technology has not. I just can't help but wonder: How did people years ago survive without cell phones? I know I know, I'm sure that's just me speaking as being a product of being born in the 80's but I obvioulsy can't help that (haha). I didn't have a cell phone when I was younger (and I obviously didn't need one) but I can't imagine driving without one now. There have been a few times where I've been distracted and forgotten to check my gas gage in the car and before I know it I'm stranded on the side of the road. Without my cell phone I would be totally lost because at those moments I'm able to just dial and reach someone for immediate help. What did they do before we had cell phones? I guess it's more of a security feature for me. Also, with the emergence of computers it's crazy. Almost everything can be done online. It makes things SO much easier. Just look at the example of the card catalogue. That thing was so hard to use (or atleast I thought so). Now with the internet and computers, they've completely done away with the CC. In that case, the computer made it much easier. I'm not really sure what I think on the whole thing of our lives getting crazier and crazier as new technology emerges. As new technology emerges I think we'll learn how to adapt just fine (or so I hope).

[Judith Piccione]

Wow, if you think that quote is interesting in the context of Distraction, I can't wait until you read about the first 40 pages of Little Brother. So far, I feel like the administration of that book feels like they've got technology all figured out and that they are doing students a service.

In relation to your comment about kids playing video games, this is something that I have a real problem with! We played video games as kids (we had like a Sega Genesis and Nintendo...the original, not all these fancy dancy things kids have now...and an Atari), but I played outside! I did my fair share of "inside" things, but I rode my bike from one end of town to the other, I walked my dog for miles with my friends, and I played sports...by no means a couch potatoe. What's wrong with kids today! There's a whole slew of kids that live on my street. In the 2 years that I've lived here...I hardly ever see them unless they're going from the house to the car to go somewhere. That's sad. I feel like technology is making it easier and easier to lure kids away from being kids.

[Megan Morrissey-Kelley]

i understand what you're saying, but i must say that i think this is less about "what's wrong with kids today" and more about parenting. in some ways technology has offered some easy outs for parents and, though i think technology has it's place in raising children in this age, it also needs to be moderated by parents and can easily lend itself to a disconnect between parents and their children depending how it's used.

[Judith Piccione]

Oh, I don't doubt that a lot of it is parenting. So, in a way, I guess life might be a bit more complicated. Parents are given too many easy outs in terms of getting their kids "out of their hair" by shoving a PlayStation in front of their faces and telling them to have at it so they don't have to come up with something constructive to talk to their kids about after school. I see your side.

[Rachel Alexander]

I am a parent to a 17 year old boy, and I think that getting him out of the house gets him 'out of our hair' way more than playing video games does. I also see a general upswing in his mood and friendships when he spends more time outside and less holed up in his room, playing Guitar Hero. He likes to be outside, and there are about 8 teenaged boys in our neighborhood, so they camp, skateboard, have bonfires, swim, etc.... They are just starting to get drivers' licenses, so you can imagine this is opening up a whole new facet of his social life (scary for Mom). Mike (my son) is forbidden from using the computer for some questionable behavior of the past, and though he used to live for the thing, he seems to get by just fine without it now. Plus, I used to tell him he was cheating on his girlfriend when he would flirt with girls on MySpace, and he would say there was a difference between the real world and the computer world and that it was not real. They have since broken up, so I don't know if this played a part or not.

I remember running out of gas without a cell phone, it meant you had to walk to the nearest house, hope someone was home and that they were friendly, and ask to use their phone. Also, writing research papers meant going to the school or county library and actually looking in physical journals and resource books. These tasks were more difficult in the time that they took, but you could pretty much count on a solid outcome. I think now we are just overrun with information and ways of doing things, some outcomes of which can be fishy. Does that make any sense?

[AlexReid]

I agree that the world is a more complicated place. We live in a global economy where events on the other side of the planet can affect us within minutes. We are awash in information and we are connected to the world in surprising ways.

My personal take on it is this. We are on the cusp of revolutionary times, which is exciting in some ways but mostly unsettling. The future will require new human identities, new social organizations, new ideologies, new economies. Of course people are deeply resistant to such changes on a global scale. And I'm not saying we shouldn't be skeptical of the solutions people put forth, but sticking to the old will not help us either. If we can manage to survive the impending ecological and energy crises, if we can address the violence that comes of our global economic instability then maybe we can find our way through to a new society where life will get easier.

Who knows, it could happen.