One of the first negative impacts of computers and their related software that I would like to discuss can be seen in the arguments of Nicholas Carr in his book The Shallows. In it, Carr presents readers with the notion that the traditional method of reading books, essays and various other written works are superior to what is offered today on the internet (Carr 10). For Carr, the internet is a medium based on the concept of interruption where multitasking and rapid-fire reading is the norm rather than curious oddities (Carr 14). Reading short articles, responding to emails and chatting at the same time has become so ubiquitous with internet usage that most people barely give it a second thought. On the other hand, as Carr explains, this has resulted in people losing the ability to enter into a slow, contemplative method of thinking normally associated with reading novels in print (Carr 20). A crowding out effect can be seen where people find it harder to concentrate on lengthy articles, books or essays and a growing preference has developed for short, rapid-fire articles which can be browsed within a few minutes. For Carr, the perceived value of the internet is one of human deterioration where people lose the ability for solitary, single-minded concentration in favor of rapid-fire multitasking. In essence, the argument of Carr represents the proliferation of thousands if not millions of websites solely devoted to brief articles that do not even reach the initial steps of literary heights reached by classical and modern-day literature found in various books, novels, and academic journals. The second negative impact of computers and their software comes in the form of the dissociative manner in which people communicate with one another and how people have begun to prefer emotionless convenience over traditional emotional conversations. The modern world can be described as a fast-paced and erratic environment where actions need to be done immediately unlike in previous eras where a person could take their time to think things through properly. As a result of this need to rapidly communicate, the internet has become a means by which people communicate with their loved ones, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances thr
ough email or even chatting. Unfortunately, recent studies have shown that there has been a growing trend where people have begun to prefer the simple and immediate convenience of internet messaging rather than going to the person themselves and talking to them upfront. As a result, our society as a whole is continuing to foster an attitude of isolationism where simple face to face conversations are considered a slow and time-consuming action when the fast rapidity of the internet is preferable. The last of these negative impacts are seen in the creation of various MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing games), such software programs are intrinsically designed to capture person attention and keep it. The popular online RPG World of Warcraft has aspects that were designed by psychologists to encourage addiction to the game itself. Unfortunately not only has this resulted in people wasting their times online it has created an entire age group of individuals that define themselves not by what relationships they develop through regular social interaction but rather with the people they meet online which further fosters enhancement of the distinctly isolationist tendencies begun by trends in online internet messaging. The situation where people feel isolated and prefer online content rather what is present in the real world is similar to the concept of the red pill and blue pill from the movie The Matrix. In it the character Morpheus gives people the option to either see the truth or remain in a fantasy world; for many individuals devoted to online content, they would prefer to remain in their fantasies rather than accept reality. One method of preventing this would be to limit the overall time people can spend online however because most people are free to do what they want such a method is largely ineffective and to this day remains one of the leading causes for the continuing trend in social isolation. It is due to this that I have become disillusioned over the progress of technology as such I have become a technological pessimist rather than an optimist as a result of this continued trend of social isolation that continues to persist in our society as a result of computers and various software programs.