I'm sure you have all seen Facebook post saying things such as, "when I was your age we didn't have Google", or "when I was your age we learned about nature outside". While I agree with the statements, they don't drive home the point that I believe the authors are trying to provide. Unless the author is just trying to be ugly. Don't get me wrong, I love technology and think it's a wonderful thing to have all these tools so readily available. The convenience of having computers, search engines, how to videos, and many other things opens up a world of knowledge to the masses. The question is what are the masses doing with this world of knowledge? When we didn't have computers and such, we had to walk to the library and search, research, transfer, document, and study the information we were seeking. By skipping so many steps in the learning process does a high school student retain the information he gets from a quick search of the Internet? I happen to think that on my walk home from the library I was smarter than when I walked to the library. The point is no matter how much technology or information is available to you, if you don't take the opportunity to make yourself smarter, more informed, or more knowledgeable then you are not getting any benefit from the resources. The concept of learning is being changed from making yourself a smarter person to simply transferring information. Technology can't make you smarter if it doesn't allow for you to study and absorb information. It's the effort to understand something that makes you a better student, not the ease in which you found your material.
In all reality this is the issue across our society. We want the most we can get with the least amount of effort. We all want to be skinny and physically fit but we spend tons of money on diet crazes that proclaim you can lose weight without any effort. Drinking some concoction while sitting on the couch will never make you skinny, but we still buy the junk. Do you really think that you can better yourself physically without doing anything physical? Then we add another layer of laziness on top of these diet crazes. We believe we can get rich quick by selling some new product that is all the rage. We don't care what product "X" is, as long as it makes money with no physical effort of mine then that's the ticket for us. Then we beat our friends and family over the head with false facts and studies to get them to buy our stuff so we can be rich. Do you really think you can increase your bank account by brow beating your family? What ever happened to the commercial that said, "we make our money the old fashion way, we earn it"? Gone are the days of men and women submitting a lifetime of work to get a promotion or raise. Now we brag on who we know. If I know the right people in the right positions then I'll go far in this company. How do you look to "the right guy" if he earned his way to his position?
On my graduation night my mother, who was filled with pride and joy, told me in no uncertain terms, "tomorrow you will get up, get dressed and go look for a job, because no job will find you in this house." The moral of her story was that only I could better myself no one was going to do it for me. By all means use all the technology you can get your hands on but use it to make you a better person. Shortcuts are just that, a way to get around things quicker. Learning things from the ground up and knowing how things are done the hard way will give you insight to things the shortcut people will never know. There is so little satisfaction in just getting by in life. If you make an effort to better yourself everyday you will become more confident and have more control over the direction of your life.
Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the highroad to pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction.
Margaret Thatcher
