Class Discussion Question 5.20.08

Science and technology shapes culture, values, and institutions. They enter society, they change through social processes, and society changes as a result. Many examples illustrate the positives and negatives of this relationship. Consider first the Internet. The emergence and spread of computer-mediated communications is one of the fastest growing technologies in history. The Internet has altered how we perceive and understand community, personal identity, and the transfer of information around the world. Another example of the consequences of such a relationship is globalization and economic competitiveness. The growing scale of economic competition facilitates a diverse culture, interweaved with one another by computers, satellites, and the Internet, all of which have numerous positive effects on workers, consumers, and nations.

As we all know nothing is ever black and white. There is always gray and when it comes to weapons technology there’s a lot of gray. Nuclear weapons, missile delivery systems, chemical and biological weapons, as well as more destructive conventional weapons present unique and compelling problems for all humanity. This is especially true when this new technology gets into the wrong hands and is used to threaten freedom rather than to protect it (i.e. terrorist attacks, war, etc.) Another area where science and technology seesaws back and forth between positive and negative influences is biotechnology. Genetic science and engineering opens up the possibility of humans taking control of life, itself. By altering the genetic makeup of plants, animals, and, eventually, humans, we have the possibility to change our relationship to nature allowing couples who can’t conceive to conceive, cloning organs for transplant patients, among other beneficial things but for many this means playing God.

All things considered, it is ever more apparent today that those of us who create, use, consume, and live with the products of modern science and technology must seek out knowledge in order to better understand these forces and to differentiate between using and abusing them.

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Developing emotional closeness with someone is hard work, especially for me. I’m pretty sure the distance that I place between myself and others is directly related to my mother being diagnosed with sarcoidosis when I was just in sixth grade. I’m the oldest of five children and that meant that I had to lead by example. Needless to say, I grew up fast or at least I mastered playing grown up. Unfortunately, I still find myself “playing grown up” when it comes to expressing my feelings for or to another person. Imagine my surprise when I met someone that made sharing and caring (for them at least) second nature to me. It was so easy to allow myself to get close to him. Then he graduated and moved 40 minutes outside of DC. I’m somewhat cynical when it comes to once upon a times and happily ever afters so I had accepted, long before the last box was loaded onto the uhaul, that the relationship was over. It was over not because the love was gone but because he was. It wasn’t until I realized that I wanted to try and believe in happily ever after because the alternative was too painful, that I decided to try and make things work--A LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIP. I see it all the time in the movies; people make it work, and it’s science and technology that gives them the tools needed to fight for their love. So, whether it is the war in Iraq or a career move to a new city that separates lovers, there are now several ways to maintain a long-distance relationship. I’ve probably utilized most of them in my own long-distance relationship.

In a long-distance relationship, you can't rely so much on physical contact, so e-mail and phone communication is the primary backbone of the relationship itself. Indeed, modern technology like instant messaging and webcams are granting long-distance lovers, like my boyfriend and I, some remediation of immediate and face-to-face contact. We even have date night still. We both have DVRs (who can really live without those now) and we record the shows that we used to watch together (i.e. Shark, House, Grey’s Anatomy). One night when we’re both free we cook dinner or order in, grab our laptops, log onto aim, start a video chat, synchronize our show, and have a countdown to play. It’s almost as though he’s in the same room as me. Whenever something funny, shocking, or cheesy happens our eyes meet instantaneously; it reminds me that we’re still in synch--that I’m still in a relationship.

Unfortunately, as with everything in life, with the good comes the bad. I find myself using the new technology as a crutch. I don’t want to miss him nor do I want to hurt, so what do I do? I overuse the technology. I completely detach myself from my life here in Clemson and totally submerge myself in this “second life” where nothing has changed. Some days I come home from school and he from work and we grab our laptops, sign online, get on the webcams and talk all day (we watch each other cook, we sit down to eat together, we fall asleep with the camera still on). I know that I need to be out enjoying my friends and my senior year of college and I know that he needs to be out networking, finding his place there, making his house a home, but being together is what we’re used to and we’re afraid of growing apart.