Does technology control us?

The relationship between man and computer is getting forever closer. It has even come to serve the question as to whether or not media is beginning to control us. Although it may seem like an extreme question, when you research how intimate it is actually becoming, it really makes you think.

Thanks to technology, we are now able to have technology in our bodies. We have pacemakers for our hearts, pacemakers for our brains, cochlear implants to help us hear, digital cameras for our sight and prosthetic haptic interface systems for touch. This just goes to show that the relationship between man and technology has got so close, that we are now letting mini-computers being put inside of our bodies in order to help us. Although this may seem that technology is aiding and helping people, and of course it is, but does this mean that it is now, technically, controlling us?

Around seven years ago, a writer named Kevin Kelly made a post in Wired Magazine (http://www.wired.com/...), predicting that in 10 years time, machines would control man. Kelly predicted this because of the amount of information the machines receive about us on a daily basis through producers and consumers. He therefore thought that with all of this knowledge, they would be able to control what we do. For example, www.amazon.co.uk. Amazon is a very well known website for buying goods, and it is used by a lot of people all over the world. In this situation, Amazon remembers things we have searched for in the past. Amazon will then recognise that we have logged back into the website and show us items that are "recommended based on your browsing history". It is a very good way to get customers to buy things. Every time we type something into Amazon we are giving them information about us that they will remember in order to make business in the future. 

Here is a link to an interesting video which proves Kevin Kelly's point. I highly recommend it and it is worth a watch. The fact that they're are so many Facebook, twitter, myspace users means that millions and millions of us are giving these companies our information. Our names, ages, location, photos, everything. Computers are one of the only things that are keeping us in contact with people. Therefore, technology is definitely controlling us. Technology is now controlling us so much that if technology was taken away from us, we would extremely struggle to cope.

 Just think, what would you do with no phone, no laptop, no computer, nothing?