Aldous Huxley's Vision Of The Future Is Still Relevant Today

“It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity,” (Albert Einstein). In today’s technologically dependent society, one would rather interact with a computer screen than with a loved one, and would rather scroll through his or her social media feed than flip through the pages of a novel. Contemporary social critic Neil Postman discusses the two different futuristic views of authors George Orwell in his novel 1984 and Aldous Huxley in his Brave New World. Postman believes that Huxley’s vision of the effect of technology is more relevant to society today than Orwell’s. He says that Huxley believes “what we love will ruin us” while Orwell fears “what we hate will ruin us”. Neil Postman’s assertion, that Aldous Huxley’s vision of the future is more relevant today, is correct. The

advanced technologies humans love and depend on constantly will ruin them.
Although Huxley was more than likely speaking metaphorically about the murderous actions of the world’s technological advancements, technology has literally ending countless human lives throughout the past century and will continue to do so.

Texting/using a cell phone while operating a vehicle is one of the front runners in technology related deaths/injuries. Statistics show that 660,000 people per day attempt to use a cell phone while behind the wheel, and that 1.6 million of reported car crashes per year are linked to cell phones. Eleven adolescents lose their lives every day due to texting and driving (“Cell Phone Use While Driving”), these are young lives that are being cut short due to recklessness and a lack of concern for others and even themselves. This is what technology has done to society. It is obvious that people today believe that liking an Instagram picture or texting back their best friend is more important than another person’s safety and well being. People have begun to put others in danger in order for them to fulfill their own electronic addictions. Humans once loved and cared for each other, now they love and care for their cell

phones.
Not only does technology literally end lives, it also kills basic human interaction and values. Teenagers would much rather stay in their bedroom and play video games or play on their phone or watch Netflix than spend time with their family. According to Pew Research Center, 92% of teens go online daily and 24% of those teens say they are online constantly. This continuous use and easy access to the internet keeps people from spending face to face, quality time with friends and family. One would much rather text a person than actually calling them or seeing them in person. With the electronic uproar that has occurred in the past ten years, it has been nearly impossible for young people to learn and practice basic “people skills”, instead they sit on their iPads or cell phones and surf the internet because, to them, that is way more interesting than the actual person sitting next to them. I see this happening daily in my own household. My younger sister plays Minecraft on her iPad all day, and instead of a punishment like an old school time out, she simply gets to spend less time on her device, which to her, seems like the end of the world. It is saddening to see the addictive properties of electronics playing such a role in children's lives, even toddlers are being appeased with a game or video on an IPad instead of a teddy bear or blanket. Technology makes it easier for humans to avoid direct communication, this weakens relationships between people while strengthening the addiction to the electronic device. Before long, children will have no idea what a family gathering looks like without a cell phone in hand, or what hanging out with friends is like with an actual conversation. Technology is ruining relationships.
As humans, we constantly feel the need to improve, to advance, to be the best. Technology is advancing every day in every way possible. It plays a role in so many people's lives and we feel as if we cannot live without it. When I was young, we begged to go outside, made crafts on rainy days, and played Candyland when it got dark. Today children stay cooped up in their rooms, beg constantly to play on their iPads, and have never even heard of the game Candyland. Electronics have taken over every aspect of a child's life, and they really did not have a choice. Unfortunately, they have grown up in a world where technology is the answer to everything, where technology is the best of the best, and it is only going to get worse from here. Our world is to a point where computers make up a majority of the employed, where people are losing their lives because of a measly text message, and where the average child’s favorite time of the day is when he/she gets his/her iPad. Technology is ruining people's opportunities to earn money, ruining the lives of families who have lost a loved one in a texting and driving accident, and is ruining childhoods, yet we continue to love it and the things it does for us. So, technology lovers, let me ask, where are we going to draw the line?