Are humans becoming domesticated by technology?

The term domesticated that you have used, is a tough one to describe the situation. I don't think that we can compare pets and humans, as their psychology is different. It is true that humans depend on technology and it is not possible to them anymore do a lot without it. But is a part of evolution, in my opinion. A previous answerer has called it an effect of capitalism, others are calling it globalization. In my opinion,rules have changed and as in every field of our life, THE RESULT DEPEND ON THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY. I'm not going to talk about some facilities of modern life like electric kitchens and compare them with my granmom's traditional way of cooking. It is evident that it had nothing to offer to make her more clever or less dependent / lazy or more active, more social. Talking about computers for example, a young person can use it to isolate and fool himself or to communicate, enlarge his knowledge and his views about the world and become more social. I will use a terminology of my profession: it depends on the dosage form. How much is too much? HERE IS THE ROLE OF EDUCATION, TEACHERS, NGO's AND THE STATE. Education given during the school time or life long learning, is an alternative solution to the negative effects of globalisation. Its role is very important in the socialisation process of the person at an early age and helps in the maintainance of social bonds. I have talked about the use of computers, as part of the modern technology. Another reason for the computers overuse, I would say computer-dipendance, is that THE FAMILY BONDS ARE WEAKENED and the individual doesn't feel the tenderness and the safety that the family offers. He feels unsafe and becomes selfish, he doesn't care about anything, he doesn't want to participate in the social life. Are you asking me now about the antidote? A policy implemented by the continuing education organisations or even the civil society groups, that will include a series of things and attractive presentations, in order to inspire the person, help him to overlap this psychological obstacle and find again his interests. Let's not forget HIGH TECHNOLOGY EDUCATIONAL TOYS, at this point. Don't they wake up a child, don't they help to built a healthy mind if designed properly? It's a discussion point if the role of the State has to be that of coordinating the efforts or has just to accept the actions of NGO's. If the previous conditions are satisfied then there will be NO DANGER to be "domesticated'. So far... What kind of citizens do we prefer? Ubidient who is consuming goods and ideas of any kind and are afraid to express their opinion or responsible, selective and aware of the changes that happen around them? I have already given my own opinion and how I affront this problem in my small world. EDIT Sorry that I had to edit twice my answer but I have to mention the aid / contribution of modern technology in two more issues: commerce and medicine (ie. nanotechnology but it is not just this field in which high technology is involved). Did the enterpreneurers or the health care providers in general become more lazy or less curious in our era? I'm not going to comment the "largely obese" because of the restricted space given here. It is a complex problem and depends mainly on the quality of food and second on the quantity and life style. It is evident the role of education and the political issue also here. Thank you again for the oportunity that you have given to us to say that there is not black and white, good tradition and bad modern technology. This is absolutism. katerina

No. Humans can never be domesticated by anything. Long before technological revolution came, there were cultural revolutions and religious revolutions. All these revolutions did not make humans domesticated in their ideologies. Similarly, tech revolution will also pass. Human race is intellegent enough to sustain its intelligence. USA and UK may have dropped their intelligence but at the same time countries like India and China are continuously increasing their intellectual abilities since ages. Just see how greatly china has captured the manufacturing sector and India, the software sector.

Yes - just imagine if electricity was shut down. How would we get by? Humans (such as myself) have forgotten that electricity in itself is not a necessity for living. The worlds attention would be completely focused on getting our electricity back by any means - most humans are dependent on it and useless without it. And have gone lazy because of it. What percent of the population would be obese if we all had to chop our own wood? Walk to the local grocery store, instead of driving the 1/2 mile it takes to get there? Take away our technology and dangle it in front of our faces - we'll do stupid pet tricks to get it back.;)

Good comparison with the animal world. I don't believe that it is necessarily technology that domesticates but governmental licensing of that technology that subdues and makes dependent it's users. Governments want you to be dependent on them to control the economy. Most ppl are just trying to survive life, instead of trying to improve it.

In a way, one can say that is the case. What I think is the case, though, is that technology has made people more wilder. Physically they have got lazier, but mentally they are wild, a lot more than anyone would have thought two dozen years ago. Man used to know his own and a few other neighborhoods in the days of our great-great grandfathers. They then started sailing to lands far away and learned more. Later came the telephone, then the automobile, which opened more frontiers. Now that we have the emailing system of communication, and sites like this one, we no longer rest. Then we have the cell phone, which has whipped up quit a frency.

not domesticated, addicted

No, we are domesticating technology.

Of course not I game for points here for hours on end like everone else Lol.

Yes. We need cars to get to work. Imagine the trouble you'd have to go through just to get a hamburger if it wasn't for the nice people you buy it from. Life with out Internet? <shudder> Taking a shower would be a chore. you'd either freeze do death or get boiled alive.