Happiness Is Relevant To Different Times Essay

, Research Paper

In his essay ?Civilization and Its Discontents?, Sigmund Freud states his opinion that technological progress has failed to make humans happier. I strongly disagree to this opinion as I believe that today?s technological progress has made our lives more efficient and interesting, and thus more happy. Freud speaks in a time when the progress of technology had not started its rapid acceleration, and so the technology of his day did not have a large positive impact on the whole of society, compared to today?s world.

Technology has changed many things in our lives, but has it made our lives any better? Technology does make people happier. Humans always want to upgrade their paraphernalia to new more efficient pieces of equipment. Researchers are always looking to improve the current technology, and come with modern efficient devices to improve our lives. Researching has been created because we want to evolve along the technological scale. Humans have been progressing for thousands of years and we still are. If society were to stop emerging with new inventions, we would be very unhappy in the long run. The leading edge of technology is what makes us happy.

The microwave oven is a prime example of technology making us happy. If we were to abolish the microwave many people would be angry because it is a very handy cooking appliance. Items that are efficient make society happy. Technology is directly linked to happiness. Simple devices have been developed to make almost every aspect of our lives easier. Remote controls, electrical beds, gel based running shoes, palm pilots and cell phones are just a few examples of how the little things make our lives easier and more comfortable for us. Anybody that owns a new top of the line cellular phone is proud to have it because it makes simple things in their life easier, and thus taking away stress. A lot of these things we take for granted, but without them people would surely feel the loss as their lives would be a little more stressful to carry out, so today?s technological devices truly do make us happier, or keep us happy.

There are hundreds of thousands of hobbies, sports and activities existing in the world today with the help of modern technology. There are hobbies for all ages and all tastes on the market. Imagine if we only had a few hobbies involving constructing things out of wood. If someone did not like building then I would assume they would be unhappy. Hobbies and sports are created to please the different tastes and abilities of people in the world. New technology makes hobbies and sports much better, and allows for different hobbies to be constantly in creation. With more and more choices entering the market we can find something that fits our talents and interests perfectly.

Traveling has improved astronomically over the years allowing people to explore the world in a short amount of time. Anyone from Canada could go almost anywhere in the world within two days. This allows people to experience a new cultures and lands. We all know how happy our friends and family are after having been on a trip to another country. The opportunities are becoming endless. New ways of traveling faster planes and busses and modern overnight trains and now being constructed to help make travel easier and possible. Modern technology is bringing people closer together, and making the globe a smaller place.

Being knowledgeable is a great feeling. The invention of computers and the Internet have allowed any information to be accessible to anyone. The Internet connects people from around the world. It has been a huge step towards global communication. Any business can offer its products around the world through a web page. A person can speak to friends or relatives anywhere on the globe. I personally am very happy. Because of the Internet, I am closer than I would be to my brother who lives in Montreal and my dad who lives in Chile. The Internet has made it possible for us to speak to each other constantly, helping to keep our connections strong.

If I want to learn something, all I have to do is type a few words on my computer; wait for a few seconds and in front of me will appear are the instructions to the certain task I typed in. People can learn anything that they want from the Internet. Things that they never thought that they would have access to, or that are too difficult to access without the aid of the internet are now within reach to anyone. Having information at the tips of our fingers saves extreme amounts of time, and lets us become more educated about certain things, so this makes us happier in the long run.

. There is a maximum amount of happiness that someone can have. The happiest people a thousand years ago are as happy as the happiest people of today. Just because our technology is more advanced does not mean we can achieve a higher level of happiness. Our lifestyles are more efficient and thus a larger portion of the population is content. People have more time in day because many chores have been cut down in time. The reason we seem to have very little time in day is because we all partake in more activities that are being made possible by modern technology.

Technology has a much greater impact on society now than in Freud?s time because it has been expanding more rapidly. My reasoning for this essay would be much harder to demonstrate if we were in the early 1900?s but I would still stick to my opinion.

The fact that our opinions are stated in different times makes it harder to compare them. As John Mill would say ?opinions should always be argued against?. Because Freud lived in a time when the then modern technology did not affect the mass of population in greatly positive ways, he has more reasoning to say that technology does not make people happier. But because I am referring to today?s world, I strong believe that modern technology makes us happier as it touches the lives of every person in many different ways.