Satvika Ananth
Staff Writer

This year, my family finally entered the 21^st century. After pleading with my father, we’ve at last attained a state of technological advancement, with an LCD flat-screen TV, iPods and other new equipment requiring less manual effort than computer effort.

In other words, there are now more LCD lights around my house than regular wattage bulbs.

I was excited, particularly for the television. After years of watching everything from Barney to Gilmore Girls to Gossip Girls on an age-old 24-inch television, being able to actually see the expressions on the actors’ faces was an absolutely treasured experience.

I was sure that this advent of technology in my household could mean only one thing: easier access, faster service and less effort. And I was right. But also very, very wrong.

Let me put in a disclaimer here: I love technology. I adore the concept of being able to do things faster, with the touch of a finger, moving through cyberspace to find answers to questions that would otherwise require in-depth research with encyclopedias. I’m particularly fond of the beautiful invention that is Wikipedia.

However, technology can become troubling, and fast.

In my house, when our television was dysfunctional and watching shows caused more strain than simply playing catch-up the next day at school, we would spend our evening as a family, discussing politics (sometimes) and schoolwork (all the time) together, as we brought to the table four very diverse points of view. During dinner, we’d talk about whatever had occurred that day at work or school, and I normally left the table feeling a little relieved of my troubles.

But now, with a beautiful high-definition television sitting only feet away from the dinner table now, we spend our dinners absorbed in the goings-on of the NFL, NBA and The Office. Our seating positions have even been altered to where we all sit facing the television more than each other.

When I do my homework, it’s mostly in front of the television, and when I try to talk to my 11-year-old brother, he’s too absorbed with whatever is on Disney Channel to give me a response longer than two sentences. And I’m sure I’m equally guilty of that.

Our family’s communication structure has almost been completely shut down. With over half of us now owning iPods, and often keeping the ear buds plugged in even when we’re not listening to anything, we lack connectivity to each other, even as we gain infinitely the connectivity to the rest of the world.

And quite frankly, I find the former far more important than the latter.

It is apparent to me, that technology has taken over our lives in a way that I simply cannot abide with. It’s like a bad relationship: you can’t stand to see that person for even one more minute, yet you are drawn to him or her again and again, out of sheer habit. I could even compare it to an addiction, since we continually look to technology to alleviate all our pains and sorrows. 

I started trying to temper my use of the computer and iPod by only using them when I absolutely needed to. I even go through the painful process of logging out of Facebook and Gmail in order to keep myself from being distracted.

The result: even though I feel a little less connected with the world, I feel more real, more willing to engage in actual conversation instead of merely Skyping.

Technology has indeed infiltrated every aspect of our lives, including school. We’ve got iPods, Blackberries, and laptops. With every new piece of technology, students become more and more connected with the world, but less and less engaged with reality.

But by taking a deep breath and stepping back from the constant influx of information for a few moments, we can re-engage with our surroundings and remember that even with a highly developed virtual world, reality still exists in full force.