Basic Essay3

Jiayou Tao
Basic Composition – Section GR
Deborah Allen
Final Draft
March 12th, 2015

Modern technology, a great place to cover

With the rapid development of society, modern technology has become one of the most dispensable parts in most people’s daily lives. It is no doubt that modern technology like cell phones and Internet have been widely put into use. We even cannot imagine a day without Internet and electronic devices. It is no exaggeration to say that modern technology has more or less “robbed” the daily lives of most people. Many people are addicted to texting and social networking like Facebook. Sherry Turkle, in her essay “Alone Together”, argues that the machine-mediated relationships might cause many problems between people. And more and more people are “playing themselves” online with different identities. People are even more alone after using modern technology. Kenji Yoshino, in his essay “Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights”, asserts that everyone covers, and people cover in order to be accepted by the mainstream. Many teenagers would rather text than talk on the cellphone. People avoid face-to-face or voice-to-voice contact in order to “cover”. On the one hand, modern technology can bring people countless convenience. On the other hand, these technologies can also boost covering described by Yoshino. And the reliance on the kind of technology described in “Alone Together” can provide the opportunities for people to cover themselves. The modern technologies like robot and cellphones do bring people great convenience. As Sherry Turkle claims, modern technologies like cellphones and robots might cause ethic issues. Sherry Turkle argues, “Some people are looking for robots to clean rugs and help with the laundry. Others hope for a mechanical bride.”(264) Actually, the benefits of robots can greatly overwhelm its negative effects. First and foremost, the robots can do much easy and physical work. Robots can replace human beings to do that kind of work. Sometimes that kind of work is dangerous and tough. If we assign robots to do that kind of work. We can save people from dangerous working environment. However, as Sherry Turkle argues, “Our devices provide space for the emergence of a new state of the self, itself, split between the screen the screen and the physical real, wired into existence through technology.”(277) Sherry Turkle states that today many people use these social networkings to hide themselves. And many of them have a second self in the virtual world, which is different from their real self. Admittedly, the Internet and social networking give people a lot of chances to cover themselves. The online game is a great example. Many teenagers today are addicted to online games like League of Legends, which is really popular today all over the world. Inside the game, teenagers can do a bunch of things that they cannot do in real world. Another example, there is a game called The Sims. In this game, many people live much better than they really are. They live more real in the game.
As Kenji Yoshino argues, “This is the desire for authenticity, our common human wish to express ourselves without being impeded by unreasoning demands for conformity.”(295)
In America, many black people and Asian act like white in order to be accepted into the mainstream. In order to fir into the mainstream, people outside the mainstream have to tone down a lot of disfavored identity. In other words, in the real world, many people cannot live what they want and they have to hide many things in order to survive. Things are different on the Internet. On the Internet, people can use social networking to establish a different identity. They live more free on the Internet and they do not have to cover themselves. Although the Internet might provide a place for people to hide themselves, the advantages of Internet and modern technology far overwhelm their disadvantages. Robots and cellphones can greatly increase efficiency during people’s daily lives. For example, robots can help people do tedious work. Thus people can save a large amount of time. Besides robots, cellphones can also bring great convenience to people. People can use cellphones to text an instant message to contact with other people. And with the introduction of the smart cellphone, the new technology has changed people’s daily lives greatly. We can even send a video call whenever you want, although people are far away from you. Although, the modern technology can have some defects. It can make people more lonely. It can also provide opportunities for people to cover or hide themselves. The advantages of modern technology are much greater than its disadvantages. As a result, people should explore the technology as much as possible to make people’s life easier. With the increasing popularity of modern technology, people can have more opportunities to cover themselves in the social networking. In the past several years, the social networkings have become increasingly popular such as Facebook and Twitter. Many people create their perfect identities on social networking, which are not their real identities. In addition, people are relying too much on the technology today like cellphone and Internet. If people use too much technology in their daily lives, they may be covering on the Internet. Yoshino argues, “Everyone covers. To cover is to tone down a disfavored identity to fit into the mainstream.” (293) Actually, people cover in order to be accepted by the mainstream. Almost everyone is outside the mainstream to some extent. So everyone covers his or her disfavored features more or less in order to be accepted by mainstream. Today the popularity of technology is part of the mainstream. With the popularity of technology, a lot of teenagers “would rather text than talk……they choose keyboards over the human voice”(273) Many people think that talking on cellphones or talking face-to-face reveals themselves too much. When people text a message to other people, they can hide emotions. They know if they reveal their real emotions, they reveal too much.
In other words, people will never know your real face and emotion. For example, people can send a message to show that they are happy even if they are very upset. People would rather text than talk face-to-face or voice-to-voice. This is a form of covering described by Yoshino. The modern technology gives people opportunities to do that. In the text messages, people talk nearly without emotions or we will never know the real emotions of each other. People send text messages as if just switching information. Some people are even afraid of talking to others face-to-face or voice-to-voice, because they have been already accustomed to sending text messages instead of talking to others. Actually, people who like texting are covering themselves even if they do not notice it. People who like texting are actually enjoying this kind of communication with other people, because they can act like a different person. When people text with another person, they can act like a different person. This is interesting. People use the modern technology to cover. Modern technology makes the world connected, so people can use social networking to talk to someone who is far away from you. For example, some people are addicted to the social networking because they feel lonely, but they can be even more lonely when they finish talking on the Internet. If these kind of people want to get rid of solitude, what they should do is become talkative and open-minded and make more friends instead of hiding themselves in the virtual world. The sense of accomplishment that virtual world offers us is temporary. The modern technology like Internet can give people more opportunities to cover themselves, to hide themselves in the Internet, and to cover their disfavored features, because modern technology can reduce authenticity between people. The information on the social networking like Facebook and Twitter is not necessisarily true. People can use a virtual identity to talk with you and you will never know. Addtionally, people can hide emotions in the social networkings because people are not face to face, as mentioned above. In a word, with the fast development of technology, people can have more “styles” and opportunities to cover themselves.

In 21st century, modern technology has been developing in an astonishing speed.
If people want to keep pace with the development of the society, they must learn how to use the Internet technology. However, the development of technology may increase the “level of covering”. The Internet technology has become the mainstream of this society.
According to Kenji Yoshino, “being deemed mainstream is still often a necessity of social life.”(293) It is no doubt that following mainstream can offer people a lot of benefits. By following mainstream, you can be accepted by most people and get better opportunities for jobs and social status. For example, some people may use e-mail and text messages very often due to their job. As time goes by, they can be accustomed to this lifestyle, texting and using e-mail to contact. “Technology reshapes the landscape of our emotional lives………”(278). Actually, technology not only reshapes people’s emotional lives, but our lifestyle and daily life. If people want to keep pace with the rapid development of this society, we cannot refuse to use the technology. However, at the same time, modern technology cannot be perfect, as we want. They will reduce the face-to-face or voice-to-voice communication surely. This is the side effect of modern technology, but this cannot stop the tendency to use them. Additionally, some people may use these technologies to cover themselves. For example, we cannot deny that some people are really shy that they can have some difficulty talking with other people in the real world. And these people can be “left behind” by other people. However, these people are likely to cover themselves on the Internet. On social networking like Facebook and Twitter, people do not have to show their real emotions. A person can communicate with others on Facebook or Twitter like a completely different person. That is why some shy people can “live better” on the Internet. On the Internet, they do not have to show their real personalities and disposition. Once they feel they “live better” on the Internet than in reality, they can get a sense of accomplishment. On the other hand, this kind of accomplishment can make them more addicted to covering themselves. In a word, the modern technology can also cause social concerns like “covering”. We cannot stop the development of Internet. We also cannot reject the most advanced technology. The upcoming new Internet technology must have its defects, but it must make people’s life easier. Using these technologies, people can cover themselves much easier. On the one hand, modern technology can bring people countless convenience. On the other hand, these technologies can also boost covering described by Yoshino. And the reliance on the kind of technology described in “Alone Together” can provide the opportunities for people to cover themselves.