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Is Technology Inherently Good For Developing Individualism?

1032 Words5 Pages

In today’s digital age, the use of Internet service has become an indispensable part of life (Internet Users, 2016). Technology, particularly social media enabled by the use of the Internet, facilitates the expression of ideas and exchange of information. In 2014, social media has a penetration rate of around 64% in Hong Kong, with more than 3.1 million people logging on to Facebook every day and spending an average of 30 minutes per visit (Internet Usage In Hong Kong – Statistics and Trends, 2014). The prevalent use of social media has raised a debate on whether technology is inherently good for developing individualism and brings the prospect of living a good and fulfilling life. This essay will argue that the high usage rate of social media …show more content…

It is the majority’s consent that technology revolutionized how people acquire and exchange information with each other, on both individual and organizational levels. On the one hand, technology virtually removed the geographical and transportation barriers of exchanging a wide variety of information, including data, email, and media. This saved tremendous costs in both personal communication activities compared to the costs of sending air mails, and also corporate activities in terms of saving the time costs in sending legal and business documents between different parties in a transaction. The above benefits brought are the intrinsic value of technology, which has become indispensable in this day and age. With regards to the idea of self-made man enacted by Benjamin Franklin, the pursuit of individual self-interest spontaneously brings about a better society (Bellah, 1985). To maximize their own interests, businesses are incentivized to utilize technology in accessing and exchanging information, and together they are more adaptive to market changes and the market becomes more transparent and efficient. Even when referring to Chinese perspectives of individualism as proposed by Confucius, who advocates the importance of human, and thinks that self should be a great self and be related to the environment (Individualism in Classical Chinese Thought), technology lays a foundation for people to cultivate themselves and later influence each other from a community, regional, national to globalized level. From the above it is clear that the nature of technology is consistent with the major beliefs of

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