From Tools 2 Technocracy 2 Technopoly pg 1-91

In "Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology", Neil Postman, the author of the novel, writes about how technology runs people's lives. People who can only see what technology can do for them, and not able to see what technology can undo, are referred to as Technophiles according to Postman. The term 'Technolopy' describes how society, mainly America, has become dependent on the ins and outs of technology and the beliefs people have on science/technology playing a larger role on decision making than humans do. He argues that humans have lost connection with information, meaning since the world wide web is so vast and accessible to anyone people are more likely to get confused on what is real or not. America is considered to be the first to by a Technopoly, one reason being, “…the success of twientieth-century technology in providing Americans with convenience, comfort, speed, hygiene, and abundance was so obvious and promising that there seemed no reason to look for any other sources of fulfillment or creativity or purpose.” (pg 54) I completely agree with this assessment, students now-a-days use the internet to complete class assignments and use Google to find sources to copy from. Even though students may know it is wrong it is so readably available to them that they cannot help but to type only a few words, a few clicks and have all the information needed for the assignment appear in front of them on their screen. When one is confronted with a task or problem they rely on technology to solve it for them. "Those who feel most comfortable in Technopoly are those who are convinced that technical progress is humanity's supreme achievement and the instrument by which our most profound dilemmas may be solved" (pg 71.) After reading this book, and the previous book, there is so much more to technology that I have no realized. I am beginning to understand that there are more negatives involved with the exponential growth of technology. i.e.) Laziness as well as less education due to convenience of information at the fingertips of American society.

Yours truly,
ChristoPHO