Technology Taking Over Creativity

Technology Taking Over Creativity

Katie Boyce
Western Oregon University

Technology Taking Over Creativity

Technology Taking Over Creativity

Our society today is considered a high tech world due to our increasing technology
advances each day. We're no longer forced to send letters through the postal service, book
vacations through travel agents, shop in stores, visit the library for research material, or wait for
our photos to be developed. Thanks to technology, all of these activities can be performed either
digitally or online (Deleo, 2008. Pg. 1). Life is much easier than in our previous generations
due to innovations and technological tools, but at the same time all of the new technology might
be more harmful than helpful. With every breath a new technological advancement is being put
into place all across the world. People tend to catch on to these new devices because they
supposedly help to make our lives easier and more efficient.
In this paper, I will discuss how most of our current technology innovations are taking
over our societys creativity. The three main points that I will discuss will be how technology
should be an aid in our society and not the backbone of our society. Second, how technology has
changed our society to expect instant gratification. Last, is how our children are loosing their
creativity at an earlier age because of technology and the impacts it has on them.
Technology as an Aid Not a Backbone
Technology such as T.V.s, computers, and cell phones have become the center that
society revolves around. Some may feel that this is a great thing and others tend to see it as
harmful to our society, especially towards our children and taking away their creativity. For
example, cell phones keep us too connected, people rely on it too much, and certain parts of
childrens brains dont develop as well if they use such devices as these. Sara Childre (2013)
asserts, The fear is not only that this technology is replacing physical and imaginative play, but

Technology Taking Over Creativity

that it also may be diminishing development of social skills, heart connection and empathy for
others (pg.2). Through much research and personal experience I feel that technology can be
useful, but it can also be damaging to our children. I question what todays youth will be like as
adults versus how todays adults were after being raised with limited technology.

Technology should be a backbone for humans and not a brain, meaning it should help
support people but not think for them (Diwi, 2008). The Internet has made printed textbooks and
written documents obsolete in some ways. It seems as though technology has taken over and
changed everyones way of life. Nothing can be done anymore without the use of technology. By
becoming so technologically advanced, Americans have exposed themselves to a major
weakness. Technology has become the backbone, the brain, the navigator, and basically the
entire way of life for Americans.
Imagine if the power grid of the United States were to crash or get attacked, many would
not know what to do. Oil, food, heat, lights, and just about everything people use on a daily basis
would no longer work. After the stores ran out of food and supplies would people know how to
mend or make clothes, provide enough food, or get from place to place? Without shopping malls
or a place to buy supplies, Americans would be clueless. It is possible that with the rise of
technology our society has become this way. People tend to rely too much on technology,
including myself, which can potentially cause people to loose their ability to utilize individual
creativity and imagination. Thus, trying to survive without modern technology in todays society
would be a chore or an inconvenience for most people.

Technology Taking Over Creativity

Technology and Instant Gratification

The way that most people utilize technology is not necessarily beneficial all of the time. I
have an image in my mind from The Jetsons, where robots do everything in their world.
Certainly a cartoon is not an accurate depiction of the future, but this depicts the general trend of
technology. With the availability of a computer, people dont have to go to the library to
research. Online courses make it so students dont have to physically go to school to gain an
education; it is at their fingertips with a computer. Although, Todays schools and universities
are run a lot differently due to the Internet and social media which can be a positive aspect
regarding the use of technology.

Teaching is all about communication.

Not one-way

communication - boring lectures - but many-to-many communication- a learning environment

(Friedman & Friedman (2013). The reason for this changing is all because of the emerging
technologies that are now available. Social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Blogs all can
be used to enhance communication. Students can collaborate over the Internet through a single
blog that is shared between and among a group. Wikis can also constitute for great collaboration
in and outside of the classroom. Facebook, Twitter and other forms of Web-enabled social
media can create a community of large and small groups of people. All of these technologies can
be used as a platform for creating a learning organization. Creativity can occur in utilizing
digital media and other forms of technology that can enhance the creative side in all of us. To be
creative it is difficult when one works alone, so being part of a community of learners has an
important effect on interaction. As you can see there are some aspects about technology that can
enhance our creativity and communication.
One part of our emerging technology that has had a large impact on our society is cell
phones, which have become a necessity of life in the 21st century. Every time my husband and I

Technology Taking Over Creativity

go out for dinner the first thing he brings out is his cell phone to catch up on Facebook instead of
having a conversation with me. Our phones today seem to replace face-to-face interaction.
According to Yue Wang, a writer for Time Magazine, out of the seven billion people in the
world, six billion have access to mobile phones and only four and a half billion people have
access to toilets. This just puts a perspective on how much cell phones are in peoples
possession, that arent a necessity, versus the amount of toilets that are a necessity. Out of the
one billion people that dont have cell phones many of them are infants or young children that
cant even hold one (Wang, 2013). Because of the rise in cell phones and social networking,
face-to-face social skills arent developing as strongly as they should. For example, I have a 9
and 10 year old that love to play on their I-pads. They would rather stay indoors and play games
on their technology device than enjoy the outdoors and utilize their personal creativity and
imagination. Most of the 21st century children are being brought up glued to the television or
the phone and have no time to play or even talk with anyone (Perera, 2012). Although you can
be social in the area of social networking and texting, it is the face-to-face contact that many
people are missing. I believe that in time if our society continues to rely so heavily on these types
of devices, we could become more and more isolated than ever before.
Loosing Creativity
Nancy Carlsson expresses that 72 percent of iTunes top-selling education apps are
designed for preschoolers and elementary school children (2013). This means that iTunes target
market for educational apps is towards children ten or younger. With this technology in front of
them, they arent forced use their creativity and imagination in physical form. They dont need to
imagine a world of their own to play in outside.

Technology Taking Over Creativity

The game theyre playing through a screen shows them everything they need to see. Kids are
learning math, science, shapes, and most important, and how to use their thumbs and fingers on
an iPad. Playing without technology develops creativity, imagination, and keeps children staying
active. Another important point is that technology is being used by children on a daily basis and
it is a large contribution in taking away their ability to think for themselves in ways such as being
creative or imagining their own world to play in.
Childrens developing sensory and motor systems have not evolved biologically to
accommodate the sedentary, yet frenzied and chaotic nature of todays technology.
Rapidly advancing technology has contributed to an increase of physical, psychological
and behavior disorders that the health and education systems are just beginning to detect,
much less understand (Rowan, 2013).

Children tend to not be as creative today as they used to be before the technology boom.
Kids are loosing creativity secondary to advance in technology. Their imagination power and
their creative nature have been destroyed and they are only the follower of the technology. They
are not playing creative imaginative games now because they do not like such things, as it is
boring to them. Children love television and watch reality shows that depict bad behavior, even
on the Disney channel. Often you cannot find children playing games together such as hide and
seek or playing with cards. Todays kids want to play with computers and video games or watch
television. Some video games are violent in nature and kids loose their imagination power
instead of gaining something. With technology doing most of the creative work for us, how do
we inspire our children to think outside of the technological box and use their own imaginations
to explore new ideas?

Technology Taking Over Creativity

Robinson explains that being creative is about exploring new horizons and using ones
imagination. Students and children are pressured in learning certain outlined concepts and
subjects, such as, math, reading, and writing and not the arts, which tend to bring out ones
imagination and ways of exploring. The idea is that there must be a way to find a balance
between learning important skills yet inspiring the imagination to discover new concepts and
ideas to bring upon creativity within our schools and children (Robinson, 2001. p. 161). This is
what our society is lacking. Most have become dependent upon technology to take the
guesswork out, thus our imaginations and creativity is not accessed as much. Television has
impacted childrens imaginations. In our previous generation, our parents used to make many
toys and sculptures using their imagination power. For example, when I was child, my mother
prepared many toys for me and even she used to sew my Halloween costumes herself. But I
never tried to learn any of these things. Because everything is available at cheaper rates now due
to advance in machinery and technology. Children today, lack the ability to bring out their
individual creativity and choose to rely on gadgets that do things for them.
Conclusion
On the other hand technology has improved the lives of people all across the world. The
world shouldnt be rid of technology because without it the caveman era would rise again.
Technology such as the light bulb and the toilet have bettered our lives. In many ways it can be
very useful; however, humans that are part of a more advanced society are becoming more
robotic and dont have to think for themselves. Because computers and the Internet give people
answers that they dont have to come up themselves, some people might argue that humans are
becoming less classy. There has to be a point where people dont believe everything on the

Technology Taking Over Creativity

Internet. Anyone can gain access to a website and put up false information.
Technology is needed to help people with serious problems like pollution and deadly
diseases. While brand new phones and computers are cool, there are much bigger problems that
should be dealt with instead. People should be educated about basic survival skills incase
technology crashes and humans have to provide food, heat, light, and other necessities for
themselves. Being in control of your life and thinking for you is a much better way to live than
living through technology.
Children and people all across the world lean on technology to carry their workload and
make life easier, but this makes people weak and not as independent as they should be. Children
dont develop an imagination or a social life with video games and learning on an iPad. This can
carry on into adulthood, as they use a G.P.S. to get from A to B. They have to use dating
websites instead of meeting someone at a bar or where they work. Technology should be
improved in areas where its needed most like: pollution, population issues, curing deadly
diseases and illnesses, modes of transportation, etc. Newer smart phones and computers are
great, but soon they will be more intelligent and sophisticated than humans. I believe that people
need to become more independent from technology and live life through themselves, not through
a piece of circuit board with wires and a screen.
Even though technology devices and accessibility has helped our society in some ways,
the impact that it is having on our younger generation could be damaging in the long run. With
our society relying too much on our current technology we forget how to live without it. People
tend to be so used to the way of technology that we neglect the fact that it may not be around
forever.

Technology Taking Over Creativity

Resources
Carlsson, Nancy (2013). Is Technology Sapping Childrens Creativity? The Washington Post.
Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com.
Childre, S. (2013). Children and Technology Should you be Concerned. Retrieved from
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/children-and-technology-should-you-beconcerned.html
Deleo, J. (2008). How Tech Has Changed our Lives. Retrieved from
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2332338,00.asp
Diwi (2007). Are We Relying Too Much on Technology. Infotech and Public Policy.
Retrieved from http://courseblog.cs.princeton.edu.
Friedman, L. W., & Friedman, H. H. (2013). Using Social Media Technologies to Enhance
Online Learning. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1004891.pdf
Perera, P. (2012) Technology having bad impact on childrens social life. Arabian Gazette.
Retrieved from http://www.arabiangazette.com/technologys-impact-social-life-children/
Robinson, K. (2001). Out of our Minds: Learning to be Creative.
Rowan, C. (2013) The Impact of Technology on Child Sensory and Motor Development.
Retrieved from http://www.sensomotorische-integratie.nl/CrisRowan.pdf
Wang, Y. (2013). More People Have Cell Phones Than Toilets, U.N. Study Shows, Times Magazine.

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References