The World Without Us by Alan Weisman Book Analysis Essay Sample

“It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.” Albert Einstein claims what had once made us human has now been vanquished into thin air with the rapid growth of technology in our society. Technology is everywhere; home, work, school, planes, cars, and roads. Nevertheless, as people born into technology, we never realize the extent of control technology has over us. Will technology be the end of human life? 

The World Without Us, an evocative novel by Alan Weisman, indicates that the world will see destruction, and normalcy will not return when humans disappear off the face of the Earth. He begins by entailing the complete disappearance of humans then leads into what would occur in nature without humans. By his commentary, much of the remaining leftovers will disintegrate, rot and crumble; much of our damages would take ages to return. However, all is not terrible. 

Weisman introduces the only satisfying piece of news; many depleted sea species might recover if humans do them a favor and leave. Likewise, technology will bring futile misfortune after spoiling us with tremendous gifts. 

Of course, technology has proven to enhance human life, starting with the creations of the automobile, the airplane, and the radio in the early twentieth century, however how long will it take before it ultimately takes us out? Without us, technology would be obsolete, and without it, likewise, we would be obsolete. Dependence on technology needs to decrease for humans to survive. 

Technology is the highest contributor to the standard of living. As the years go by, our reliance on technology increases directly with harmful addictions that “Are lived on the Internet, cell phones, and other forms of technological communication. Many people argue that this type of addiction is harmless since it is not physical in nature but rather a virtual addiction. However, for others, this addiction has become a physical and social blight” (Giannelis). An aspect of technology that is prominent in everyday life is social media. Society can not run away from the effects a single app on phones can do. Regardless, we may not check social media every minute (although very likely), we still use it at least once a day. We perceive that this is our only source of entertainment and communication because our blind addiction controls our thoughts. 

With so much focus on a single device, imagine life without it. “First of all, you’d wake up late because your smartphone alarm no longer exists” (Madden). The beginning of the day will already start on the wrong note, and it will continue to go wrong; you will not be able to shower, brush your teeth and start your vehicle unless it was created three decades ago. As a matter of fact, it shows that the moment our eyes open, technology has already begun to control us. These are just the minor difficulties produced by the removal of technology, there are bigger problems. 

For instance, power plants. Power plants are one of the best technological advancements throughout history. It is our source of electrical power. Without this source, electricity would also vanish, destroying a part of life. Furthermore, it takes a while for people to realize that without electricity not only will the Internet and Wi-Fi cease to exist but so will cash machines (ATMs), elevators, power for factories, and petrol pumps. Consequently, it is the end of normality as we know it. A poll suggests that “50% of the public said they would not be able to survive for more than 2 weeks without electricity, proving our dependency on readily available power. Of those polled, a staggering 75% predicted that within two months, they would be dead” (Life). We are all dependent on technology and when that luxury perishes, we become vulnerable. As technology advances, reliance on such technology will increase leading to our demise. An option to become less dependent on electricity is to live off the grid. However, most people will not choose this option due to the severity of losing technological power and connection. Instead, many can shut off lights when not necessary, have solar panels, speak face to face rather than text and even light candles once in a while. 

History has shown us that life before the commercialization of technology was great, “Thirty years ago, 90% of the kids were outside getting oxygen and playing sports. In addition, they were building forts and enjoying life. In this day and age, more than 75% of our children are playing video games and staying indoors” (Correll). The impact of technology is above imagination. Computers, phones, and even video games have been great technological developments, but along with the good comes the bad. Even looking back ten years shows a difference in children. During childhood, I played with blocks, dolls, and kitchen utensils. However, now children enter the world while playing with iPads and having no social life. It is rotting brains, and will eventually come haunting back. The only piece of advice is to reduce our dependence on unimportant technology. Some technology is useful such as energy, but phones are the least of concern.

For many of us, technology is a natural part of our life, and once it disappears, living is ultimately impossible. Look at the amount of technology around: everything relating to energy, education, communication, musicality uses technology. If it vanished, we would be living without heat, power, and communication. Hence, it would ultimately wipe out the entire population, and the remaining few would struggle to survive. The remaining would have had to know about creating technology: plumbers, scientists, inventors, engineers would have the intelligence to survive. It only includes millions of people out of billions.

Without humans, technology would cease to exist. People wanted a better life, and new inventions were the way to go. Historically, people have lived without technology such as phones and managed to survive. It does not mean that we ought to eliminate technology because that would be foolish. Instead, we must learn how to use it moderately. 

Simple ideas can prevent us from becoming too dependent on technology.

According to a Concordia St. Paul's article, “Emerging Trends in Psychology: Tech Dependency”, items such as no texting while driving, not taking your device into the bathroom, paying with your wallet, keeping your phone out of bed, and turning your phone off when with friends will help. These small breaks add up and help you step away from your screen. Keeping your phone in your pocket while you pay could significantly reduce screen time. Indeed, it is tempting to fall asleep while scrolling through social media, but breaking this habit is another way to reduce technology dependency. Additionally, it helps gather attention on the people you are interacting with, not just on social media. 

Technology is a great aspect of life, and it will continue to grow. However, we should not forget what makes us human; the use of languages, emotions, creating social identities, empathy, and much more. When humans disappear, nature will deteriorate. When technology disappears, humans will not degenerate.  In the end, our survival will come down to our intelligence and our dependence on technology. We need to create a better society and become free of unimportant technology.