Today, humans are constantly pursuing the next best thing, but it wasn’t always this way. Modern humans originated in Africa around 200,000 years ago. In terms of technology, it seems that we’ve accomplished 99% of the progress in the last 0.1% of our timeline. Just 250 years ago, the average person was lucky to make it past their 30th birthday; now, I’m fortunate enough to visit my 94-year-old grandpa who wouldn’t be here without the help of his triple heart bypass surgery and shiny pacemaker. It’s night and day when you look at what humans have been able to accomplish in the last couple hundred years (maybe thanks to… caffeine?). Imagine telling someone in 1900 that in their children’s lifetime, they’d be able to get in a giant metal tube that holds 400 people and fly to Europe. They simply wouldn’t believe you.
We’ll be in the same boat in not too long, which can be frightening to try to wrap my head around. Moore’s Law used to state that the number of transistors on a microchip will double every two years, which in turn increases the capability of technology exponentially over time. Not so fast! Neven’s Law, named after the founder of the Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab at Google, says that computing capacity from quantum computing is growing at a doubly exponential rate. What does this look like?
n 2n 2(2n) Quantum Computing ( 2(2n)) Power Relative to Classical Computing (2n)
1 2 22 4
2 4 24 16
3 8 28 256
4 16 216 65,536
5 32 232 4,294,967,296
6 64 264 18,446,744,073,709,551,616
7 128 2128 3.4028236692093846346337460743177e+38
8 256 2256 1.1579208923731619542357098500869e+77
9 512 2512 1.3407807929942597099574024998206e+154
10 1024 21024 1.797693134862315907729305190789e+308
Quantum computing, which experts believe to see in action by 2030, has a much higher processing power than we can imagine, and it will revolutionize the way we can give and learn pertinent information. This is one example of many wonderful innovations that improve the way we can use technology. We’re finally coming up with the tools to be better, faster, and more efficient at practically everything in our lives, and this is just the surface.
We must be careful not to dive too deep too fast, as technology is already at the forefront of everyday life across the world. Following the invention of the Internet, we are now able to connect and interact instantly with someone 5,000 miles away with the click of a few buttons. Better connection and faster communication at an overall lower cost. I believe that technology is generally good for humans altogether but can carry many negative externalities, many of which we are yet to realize the full detriment. The best example of this double-edged sword is social media. It’s crucial to remember that Gen Z can hardly remember what life was like before smartphones; I’ve probably checked either Instagram, Twitter, or Snapchat at least once 95% of the days for the past 8 years (maybe even 100% of the days). This is the new normal. We are the test dummies for Big Tech in a social experiment that has tremendous stakes and unknown magnitude. Did we even really have a choice?
One doctor sums it up well, saying “social media platforms drive surges of dopamine to the brain to keep consumers coming back over and over again. The shares, likes, and comments on these platforms trigger the brain’s reward center, resulting in a high similar to the one people feel when gambling or using drugs.” TikTok is the newest of the bunch and could be the worst of them all even apart from all Chinese ownership/data as a weapon conspiracy. An algorithm that knows exactly what you want to see and feeds you short hits of dopamine to keep you scrolling for more, all the while making you feel worse about your own life – why would anyone want to do anything else? No wonder there has been a significant uptick in reports of anxiety and depression.
Another scary one: “when the outcome is unpredictable, the behavior is more likely to repeat. Think of a slot machine: if game players knew they never were going to get money by playing the game, then they never would play.” Pleasure and dopamine are available 24/7 in our pocket, and it’s a battle we know we can’t win, yet we still play the game. In the book Dopamine Nation, Dr. Anna Lembke argues that with prolonged and repeated exposure to pleasure and stimulus, our capacity to handle pain decreases, and our bar for experiencing pleasure increases. A developing brain is susceptible to changes that can affect behavior for life. That alone can have devastating consequences for Gen Z along with everyone else who spends a noticeable chunk of their time on social media.
Did 13-year-old me know what he was getting himself into? If I could do it all again, I’d probably act differently. It’s negative psychological effects haven’t gone unknown, as legislators are acting on the influx of bad news about young kids using social media. What age is too young? A House Republican from Utah introduced a bill last week that would require companies to verify their users are at least 16 years old and allow parents to sue if they fail while empowering federal and state organizations to enforce the law.
Social media is just one example of many where advancing technology has led to new digital innovations that offer an abundance of both good and bad. It’s near impossible to quantify the real-world implications given its recency, and strides will have to be taken by the right individuals to ensure digital innovation relies on communities of trust and love with human well-being at the top of the totem pole.
I wrote this with the intention to become a conversation between peers. So what do you think about all of this? Do you agree? Leave a comment below.
Hello Joseph! This blog was very well written and I agree with pretty much everything you say. TikTok has ruined so many people’s attention spans (including mine haha). So much information can be learned just from watching a 3-minute or less video that sometimes even watching 15-minute Youtube videos is hard for some. Social media is a great vessel because you can connect with friends and network very easily, but as you mentioned there are many negative effects as well. I am curious as to whether or not there will ever be a healthy balance between social media and just life ever again.
Hey Joseph, I loved this post! During our last class, I had many similar thoughts regarding the direction in which we are heading as a species. Is the tradeoff of our potential, security, privacy, and more worth the additional convenience? Today, it seems like the world of Wall-E is ridiculous and out of reach. However, we may very easily progress to this state, and will we have the strength to prevent ourselves from becoming the lazy potatoes shown in the movie? I really wonder where things will end up, and I’m sure we will see it in our lifetime.
Also, I like how you mentioned quantum computing. I was considering making my next blog post about this!
I was the same way with Wall-E. It was always unnerving and I could easily see this becoming a possibility if it hasn’t already started. I think it is important that we pay careful attention to those around us as technology develops to ensure we are not only physically, but also mentally healthy so we can continue to extend our life expectancies in a positive manner.
Hey Joseph, I thought your post was very interesting. I love the use of human history incorporated throughout your blog post. I think social media has its negatives and positives maybe more negatives actually. I would also consider myself an addict as I check my accounts more than once a day. My average screen time on my phone is about 5 hours a week, which I feel is a lot lower than most people. I’m personally waiting for the world to be like The Last of Us and we are taken out my mushrooms.
Hi Joseph, I could talk about this topic all day. There is nothing in history to compare our current technological situation to, and it brings up the classic question: if you could choose to live your life in any period from human history, what would be your choice? I think now is the obvious choice, but I’d like to hear your opinion. The positives seem to outweigh the negatives with the technological process we have made recently, and awareness of the harmful effects of technology needs to be widespread. Nice post!
Hello Joseph, this is a great post that really got me thinking. I talk about this topic all the time. It’s crazy how even within our lifetime of 2 decades, so much has changed and evolved right before our eyes. I do believe that social media has had the biggest impact on our lives though, both positive and negative. On one hand, all this information is within our reach, we can talk to whoever whenever we want from wherever, and we can enable our creativity and start conversations. On the other, we are constantly seeing negativity that can make us feel bad about ourselves, fear mongering, and misinformation. I definitely agree with all your points!
Hi Joseph! That is amazing your grandpa has been able to live to that age! I believe digital innovation has a lot of costs associated with it. Personally, I had to delete Tik Tok because I wasted so much of my time scrolling through it. Although it was entertaining at times, I realized that I was focusing less on things that are more important in my life. Discussing technology’s progress is challenging since there are also a plethora of benefits. Overall, I enjoyed reading your post and thought you incorporated interesting facts and personal experiences.
Hey Joseph! Great post. I loved the first graphic you posted, it’s amazing to see how much people have accomplished in such little time. Your comment stating how people in the 1900’s would be surprised if you told them about airplanes got me thinking of those videos of people reacting to a black-and-white camera for the first time. While we think of a camera as something so basic, people in the past were astonished by it. Also, those computing numbers are INSANE and I didn’t even know they existed.
I used to work at a daycare, and it’s really interesting to compare the differences between our generation and the generation after us. The younger generation fully grew up with technology and the internet surrounding them at every move, while we had a couple of years of a “normal” child life. Although technology can help in so many aspects it can harm too.
Great blog Joseph, that was a great blog. Tech, as we talked about in class, is definitely good for society but as you said I can’t get away from my phone. We have relied on it for our lives and even if I wanted to, I could let my phone go. Im not sure, but great blog post.
What’s up Joseph! This was a great blog post to read! It was really interesting to hear about something that has really been plaguing our generation. It is really crazy that so many people are seemingly addicted to Tiktok, to no big cause of their own! The algorithm that TikTok has does a great job of keeping individuals glued to your phone as you said. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in a couple of years.
Nice post. I confess that it is the unintended consequences of technology that keeps me interested and engaged. It’s like we’re living through a massive social experiment that we’re trying to figure out as it evolves.