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Technological Advancement: Then versus Now

Technological Advancement: Then versus Now

 In my last response to what we discussed in class I took our learning about the present day and connected it to the past. In this one I plan to do quite the opposite. Today we discussed the advance of printing technology, particularly the invention and popularization of the printing press. This great leap forward provided lots of information previously reserved for the elite to a huge amount of the populous. Recently, we experienced a similar change in how information is distributed leading to an explosion in the amount of information readily available to a wide segment of the populous. But this new phenomenon called the internet has also exponentially increased the amount of something quite the opposite, disinformation, or "fake news". This new great leap is an innovation, but should it be a welcome one? 

 In class, we talked about how the metal printing press allowed for a vast increase in the availability of information for everyday people. This new technology made bibles affordable for a greater slice of the European populous, let many more people acquire quality educations and it dispelled myths and rumors while propelling humanity into a scientific age. This internet has given billions instant access to most all information ever known by anyone. It is undoubtedly a tool that can and has been harnessed for the greater good, but it seems most of us are misusing it. The dawn of the internet has brought easier access to and greater use of many materials that can be used to enrich the mind, but it hasn't overseen the type of massive overhaul in the knowledge of everyday people as the printing press. Now, much of that is probably due to the fact that such a large percentage of the world's children do go to schools, so there wasn't as much need or potential to expand literacy or overall knowledge. None of this is to negate the change the internet has brought to society that is surely unfathomable to my peers and me, who have never known an unconnected world. This newest technological revolution still happening around us today may be used in a more populist than elitist manner. While that certainly has improved humanities access to entertainment, perhaps our quality of life would be better enhanced by more educational use of this fabulous tool. If you are reading this, you have the world at your fingertips. Go out and explore!  

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