In what way and to what extent can technology be used for good or evil? Our society in even just the past few decades has changed dramatically when it comes to the combination of science and technology to create new discoveries. The introduction of smartphones, computers, and self-driving cars are only the beginning. In the Cats Cradle, a satirical novel written by Kurt Vonnegut, the increase in different aspects of science and technology combined with flawed human nature ultimately led to the destruction of the world. If advances in science and technology are as inspiring and monumental as the world tells us, how could it bring forth so much destruction in the novel? A contemporary example of human foibles corrupting science and technology today is the concept of social media. Science and technology on its own has good, positive intentions, but when combined with the ignorance and stupidity of human beings, it can bring destruction.

In the Cats Cradle, Ice-Nine, a substance that has the ability to turn any substance into solid ice is created by Felix Hoenikker, a scientist who assisted in building the atomic bomb used to attack Hiroshima. When Felix dies, the Ice-Nine is distributed among his three children named Newt, Frank, and Angela. His children all trade their Ice-Nine for trivial things such as a job opportunity or a weekend getaway with a girl. As the traded Ice-Nine is being transported by plane, the plane malfunctions causing the substance to fall into the ocean and freeze all oceans. This trade-off may seem ridiculous and absurd to people reading from an outside perspective, but individually and in society today, we trade important things for trivial matters, like social media.

While we aren’t creating Ice-Nine on a daily basis and trading deadly substances for trivial matters, we trade our sanity, humanity, and positive mental health for the fake world of social media, which can lead to our own personal destruction as well with the destruction of our society. Social media is made to look like reality, while in actuality it is the farthest from the truth. By allowing what we see others post online to affect our personal lives can deteriorate our mental health over something that is false reality. Also with social media comes the inevitable world of cyberbullying, which can drive teenagers and even adults to depressive habits and symptoms that can affect them throughout their entire lives. It is important that we as individuals and as a society recognize these destructive patterns and habits in society today and limit the use to avoid destruction.