Identitycan be described as the fact of being who a person is. Who am I? Thisis the common tool utilized to illustrate identity effectively. Ouridentities are mainly influenced by the environment in which we live.For instance, some people are influenced into stealing due to thesurrounding environment. Likewise, some individuals prosper becauseof the environment they are bred in. Nevertheless, people alsoprosper even within adversity without being influenced by thesurroundings. In “Project Classroom Makeover,” Cathy Davidsonstrives to ascertain the need of technology in the classroom. Shefocused on the educational purpose of technology and its impact onyoung students. Karen Ho’s “Biographies of Hegemony,” attemptsto understand the culture of Wall Street. On the other hand, SherryTurkle in “Alone Together” tries to illustrate how technologydeceits people into creating a false identity. As such, this paperwill look to assess the extent by which a person’s identity isinfluenced by occupational demands, technology, and the media. Thepaper will utilize the notions drawn from these authors regarding themedia, technology, and occupational demands.
Howdemand alters our thinking
Theoccupational demands tend to influence our identities. As Karen Hopurports, the technological, intellectual, and socioeconomicinfluences our identities. For instance, Wall Street molds the kindof workers, nature of employment, and everything surrounding it. Inother words, a certain kind of workforce is valued making themconstantly aggressive. For Wall Street, high risk and rapid change isthe key to personal success. As such, workers have to heighten theirskills to thrive in their daily undertakings constantly. In thiscase, the technological demands, as well as the global business,alters our identity as we strive to cope with the existing pressures.As earlier stated, the socioeconomic status plays a significant rolein shaping our identities. Though some people have managed to thrivein hardship areas to become successful, the rates are notsubstantive. As demonstrated by Karen, the recruitment process hasbeen shaped by the global demands and thirstiness to succeedeconomically. As such, students would go to Harvard, Yale, orPrinceton to thrive in banking and consulting. Evidently, most of thebankers are drawn from the few elite institutions. Apart from that,students believe the institutions are the only places that can offerrealistic chances to success in the stated fields. Therefore, thesedemands influence our decisions [CITATION Kar p 167 l 1033 ].
Dependenceon deceptive technology
Withthe ever growing technologies, people have become more dependent onmachines than fellow humans. As Weizenbaum states, some of thestudents were duped by the ELIZA program to believe everything theypreviously thought to be untrue. Technology shapes our identities invarious ways. As a matter of fact, we judge each other according tothe technological know-how. Technological demands implore people toheighten their knowledge so as to comprehend them. The robots aregood examples of how technology helps to shape identity. For anyyears, robots offering different kinds of services have beenconstructed. The success of the robots is down to the fact thatpeople have accepted them. For instance, in Japan, a robot wasdesigned to perform the receptionist’s tasks. According to thedesigner, further enhancements of the robot would enable it to serveas a teacher or a companion [CITATION She p 460 l 1033 ].
Technologytends to change our thinking. For example, prior to the inception ofthe companion robots, people were against the move. Apart from that,people criticized the working robots since they took over human jobs.Nevertheless, with time the perceptions change and the machines aregradually adopted. Identity, therefore, can be swayed by the demands.Unlike children, adults develop and alter opinions to suit therespective needs. This can be exemplified by the adoption of manytechnologies like tabs or computers within the classrooms. Beforeintroducing the computers in the classrooms, many scholars, policymakers, teachers, and parents were against the move. This is becausethey believed the technologies would interfere with the normaloperations of the learning institution as well as studentconcentration. However, on realizing the necessity of thetechnologies, most of them have come to appreciate them. As such, thecurrent globe is molded by the technological demands [CITATION Cat p 50 l 1033 ].
Mediainfluence on our perceptions
Themedia have influenced much of our thoughts. They have the power toalter our thinking and portrayal of some aspects. For example, Hopurports that the kinship networks and the media have enabled thegeneral exclusive Wall Street bankers profile to be the smartest aswell as the best investment banks. Similarly, it has been suggestedthat media encourages plagiarism and considers it bad. As such,artists who look at other people’s works are considered unoriginal.The media highlight these aspects in a means to attract the audience.On the other hand, the viewers are swayed into believing theseaspects. For instance, people believe borrowing of artistry is badconsidering it as plagiarism. They also think that Wall Street hasthe best investment bankers. As such, what we think is highlyinfluenced by the media [CITATION Cat p 56 l 1033 ].
Thehumankind frequently wants to follow certain steps. In other words,we would rather block any ideas that might be conflicting our routinefor the sake of simplicity and efficiency. Following the same set ofideas avoids disruptions and maintains the flow of things. However,this is a dangerous ordeal as it restrains us from being innovative.But this thinking is swayed by the environment. For instance, if thejob demands are not high, people will stick to a routine to meettheir daily needs. Human nature defines our desires to innovate oraccommodate innovation. Though an individual’s identity shifts inaccordance to the surroundings, much of it is developed at theadolescent age. At this stage, the autonomous feeling starts todevelop as they become self-reliant and strive to be relevant. Assuch, information gained at this period shapes our identities. Onecore aspect shaping the identity is the socioeconomic status. Asillustrated by Ho, certain elite institutions were believed to moldbetter bankers and consultants. Following this channel shows thatpeople who went through the stated institutions were adequatelyequipped to provide the respective services. And since the eliteschools mostly attracted students from higher social status, itsimply means the better the socioeconomic background the greater theintellectual capacity. It can be construed that the students comingfrom lower socioeconomic settings did not belong in the institutionsor even Wall Street [CITATION Kar p 170 l 1033 ].
Ouridentities are swayed by the intellectual, socioeconomic, andtechnological aspects of the environment. The degree of influencedefers from one element to another. Technology is one of the greatestelement that can sway our way of thinking. With the ever growingtechnological globe, people ought to change their thinking andembrace it to stay relevant. For instance, the job demands and way oflife have been vastly impacted by technology. Socioeconomicbackground also plays a significant role in shaping our identities,especially in the adolescence stage. At times, we find it difficultto express who we are? It is because the media instigates ourthinking in various capacities. For example, we believe artisticborrowing is plagiarism as emphasized by the media. In general, ouridentities are vastly influenced by the surroundings.
Davidson, Cathy. "Project Classroom Makeover." (n.d.): 48-68.
Ho, Karen. "Biographies of Hegemony." (n.d.): 166-186.
Turkle, Sherry. "Selections from Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less from Each Other." (n.d.): 457-478.