The Language of Technology

When I was a freshman in college in 1993, my friends and I were amazed by this new thing called "email." We could write letters to each other over the computer! A few years later one of the reference librarians showed my class the nascent "world wide web." She showed us the Coca-Cola website and I remember thinking, so what? Why would I ever use this? To me, it seemed to be just another medium for advertising. I had no way of predicting the great impact it would have on my life, and on the entire world. I enjoy the many ways technology can enhance life--it often saves time, encourages creativity, and makes vast amounts of information available to anyone with an internet connection. It has given us such things as cell phones, iPods, Kindles, Google, Facebook, and Twitter.

However, I still have my reservations. Yes, it's much more convenient to communicate by email, but I miss getting good old fashioned letters. My mailbox has become purely a vessel for bills, credit card offers and weekly coupon mailers. Cell phones often impose themselves upon many social situations. They ring during meetings, dinners, and gatherings with friends. Last year I even attended a funeral that was interrupted three different times by someone's phone. Facebook is a great way to stay connected with friends--old and new. Yet, sometimes I wonder if I really need to know that a person I haven't seen in over fifteen years just got back from a dentist appointment.

While these are all important issues surrounding technology, my biggest concern is the effect it has on language, specifically American English. As an aspiring high school English teacher, these concerns will constantly inspire the way I choose incorporate technology into my classroom. In the context of today's society, I view words as an endangered species and grammar as possibly extinct. Phrases have given way to acronyms. We create faces out of punctuation marks. The shorthand of text messaging is expeditiously eating words, or at the very least, correctly spelled words.

Why is this important? Abbreviated language allows us to communicate at a swift pace. There is value in that. However, the loss of vocabulary leads to something much more profound. Without specific language, we become increasingly disconnected from our feelings and emotions. We lose our ability to communicate effectively. In our efforts to be "connected," perhaps we are actually more detached.

Technology, in itself, is not the direct cause of this phenomenon. Instead, I would suggest that it results from people using technology in a less than prudent way. Technology is only as effective as the person behind the keyboard, so to speak. It will not make an amateur artist Michelangelo nor will it make a middling teacher John Dewey. As a classroom teacher, I hope to incorporate technology into my practice in a way that truly enhances learning. I want my students view technology as a tool, not as a crutch. SparkNotes can help a student navigate his or her way through The Great Gatsby, but they are not a substitute for reading the book. Text messaging is a way to quickly communicate, but it does not replace the art of conversation. These types of lessons will hopefully cultivate a new generation of people who will not only use present technology effectively, but will be prepared to approach future innovations with shrewdness as well.