Ray Bradbury depicts a rising concern of the negative effects of technology in the mid nineteenth century in “The Veldt”. Written in 1950, “The Veldt” takes place in a world filled with virtual realities and machines completing nearly any human need physically and emotionally. The concern in the world, particularly in the United States and other industrialized countries, continues to rise as technology continues to advance drastically. As “The Veldt” represents, the quick advancement of technology since the industrial revolution poses a threat to human society and social interaction supported by late 20th century and present evidence especially supported by sociological studies. Several studies and authors support this claim stating that people and the industrial world continuingly increase their dependence on technology. With the shift to materialism, there is also a threat to jobs and many other concerning possibilities.

Technology in the present day includes one of the most complex, most universally used, systems in the world, the internet. The internet serves as source of nearly anything one can possibly imagine, including videos, pictures and information. One can virtually travel to any place in the entire world with the click of just one button. Ray Bradbury represents this similar virtual world as a nursery; being described as too real: “Perhaps they needed a little vacation from the fantasy which was growing a bit too real for ten-year-old children” (Bradbury 4). The internet is very similar to the world in the nursery. The children can imagine anything they want and see it in front of their eyes in seconds. Technology, in particular the internet, work the very same way; somebody can imagine anything and see it in front of themselves in a few seconds. During the time in which “The Veldt” was written the internet did not exist. However, Bradbury recognized how quickly technology was advancing and depicted a room—the nursery—that performs many of the same functions as the internet. Bradbury also expresses a sense of addiction the children feel to the nursery. They become dependent on it, as the family also does with the machines within their house. In one study, “Some respondents reported more serious problems because of Internet use: trouble with employers or social isolation except for Internet friends—troubles similar to those found with other addictions” (Chou, Condron, Bellard 3). Here we see that technology use can lead to problems such as social isolation and can cause distractions in peoples’ everyday lives. The children in “The Veldt” are solely focused on the nursery for their everyday needs. They pay no attention to their parents or their surrounding world. The children are isolating themselves from all social interaction. This leads to a disconnection within the family. Technology causes some of the same problems. People become so engaged in their online lives and face to face interaction loses value. Society is becoming increasingly materialized.

 Bradbury conveys societies increasing materialization through the family in “The  Veldt”. The children become less involved with their parents and rely on the technology within the house to perform their daily needs. Lydia—the wife in the story—states “The house is wife and mother now, and nursemaid” (Bradbury 3). Bradbury depicts how the use of technology can lead to the distant relationship that the children and parents have together. The children don’t need their parents for nearly anything at this point in the story. Bradbury is attempting to reflect how the increase in technology can diminish core family and social values. People are increasingly replacing social interaction with technology such as cell phones, computer, and other material objects. Several studies have proven that materialism leads to decreased life satisfaction. One study states “The most accepted explanation for this finding is that preoccupation with material desires and wealth leads to the neglect of other life domains such as social relations and family, thus lowering psychological adjustment and social productivity” (e.g. Kasser & Ryan, 1993) (Kerabati, Cemalcilar 3). In “The Veldt”, the children’s materialization, shown through their use of technology, eventually causes them to choose technology over their parents. At the end of the story, the children direct the technology to kill their parents. This symbolizes the strong affinity some people can have towards their technology. For some, there is perhaps no need for human relations when technology can serve most of these needs. The more people desire materialistic items, the more our other emotional and psychological needs will fall. 

Technology is becoming so advanced that machines can do many things humans can and even cannot do. Bradbury represents this idea in “The Veldt”. The children’s mother in the story states “The house is wife and mother now, and nursemaid” (Bradbury 3). The house the family resides in can do almost everything that any parent can do plus more. For instance, the house brushes the children’s teeth and ties their shoes for them. This problem is not only representative of materialism, but also of an increasingly concern with machines and the job market. Due to the fact that machines are becoming capable of doing complex tasks while being highly productive, there is a growing concern that the number of jobs available in the future will be scarce. In an economics study, Rotman explains the results of a study “beginning in 2000, the lines diverge; productivity continues to rise robustly, but employment suddenly wilts” (Rotman 1). The line Rotman describes is located on a graph that represents two lines, productivity and employment. Employment remains constant as productivity rises. This is evidence that there is more productivity over all, however, no human labor to account for it. Technology and machines are producing more while there is no human labor needed. Rotman also explains “Technologies like the Web, artificial intelligence big data, and improved analytics—all made possible by the ever increasing availability of cheap computing power and storage capacity— are automating many routine tasks” (Rotman 2). This results in many jobs being depleted, largely in customer service and analytics occupations. As we continue to see the increasing advancement of technology, more jobs are going to disappear. Technological producing is cheaper and can be much more productive. “The Veldt” represents this concept as the house performs nearly any task that the family pleases. 

I argue that “The Veldt” represents society today. The problems in “The Veldt” are analogous to many of the problems created by technology in the present world. First, people are fabricating their world through technology, specifically the internet, computers, televisions, and phones. This is analogous to the nursery in “The Veldt”. The nursery creates a virtual reality for the children as does technology for society today. Many events and activities are now being experienced second hand via technology. This is a cause of society becoming materialistic and wanting everything at its fingertips. Second, there is an increased dependence on technology, as also represented in “The Veldt”. The children once again represent society while the nursery symbolizes technology. Many people’s daily lives revolve and depend on technology, whether it be for work, recreation, or communication. Society’s dependence on technology could possibly lead to missing traditional friendship and family values. Third, technology is replacing many jobs at an increasing rate. As the house does everything for the family in “The Veldt”, machines are beginning to do many things, never once imagined, for humans. This is leading to a decrease in the need for human labor. 

There are many sociological and economical downfalls to new technology. Ray Bradbury conveys this idea through “The Veldt”. Bradbury brings the issue of technology advancing too fast into the light. I argue that technology is indeed increasing too quickly. Bradbury wrote “The Veldt” in the year 1950. Now in the year 2016 we have lived up to the name Bradbury created for society. As technology continues to increase national and industrial leaders must be aware of the potential dangers it carries with it. 
