By Brian StieglitzColumnist

When we think of the future, we instantly picture flying cars, teleportation and all sorts of fantasies typically depicted in science fiction stories. But imagine what it would be like for people from early America to see the world today. They’d observe airplanes, the big city and people sending messages to one another from opposite sides of the world in a matter of seconds.

Technology is constantly developing in today’s society, impacting our generation in a myriad of ways. People can find information at exceedingly quick speeds, and there are apps for just about everything.

But like all that seems golden, technology has its fair share of weaknesses. It is easily abused and takes unnecessary precedence in our lives. With the help of a small electronic device that can fit into our pockets, we can too easily remove ourselves from our surroundings. In class, at meetings, even behind the wheel of a car, we put ourselves in another world —a digital world.

Technology may be helping us with a lot of otherwise tedious tasks, but at the same time, it is hurting several industries. For example, the technology takeover is taking a toll on the print journalism industry. More and more readers would prefer to use the Internet to watch news videos online or read blogs rather than pick up the newspaper every day.

It is not only print journalism industry that is suffering, but also those of music, television, movies and games. When any video game, song, movie, T.V. show, or software device can easily be illegally downloaded, the respective industries are not able to profit.

For a microcosmic example of how this is affecting our Hofstra community, take a look at how almost all film classes in the school of communication are using digital film as opposed to traditional film. While it is certainly easier to work with digital film, it can also be much less rewarding.

Many mistake sentimental value as the only reason for some people’s avoidance of technological devices, but when you put raw work and effort into a project, it becomes more gratifying. Wariness of technology can be boiled down to a basic need and desire to live deliberately.

I am most certainly not advocating that we all live as transcendentalists who go out into the woods and strip themselves of all beneficial advancements, but a happy medium should be found between taking advantage of technology and relying on it for everything you do.