Natural selection is one of the many mechanisms of our world that never ceases to occur. Natural selection acts on humans in many ways that most of us never think of because of the complex, multi-faceted lives we lead. As we interact with multiple environments in our daily lives, whether natural or unnatural, we are exposed to selection in each of these environments. As natural selection is the driving force of evolution, humans of today are evolving in ways that our ancestors could never have conceived possible. Our knowledge of our past, more primitive forms oftentimes leads us to believe that we are at the peak of our evolution and that we have mastered our environment, but it will not be long before humans of the future look back on humans of the early 21st century and regard us as primitive as well. 

On a college campus we are able to observe many cultural traits take shape and become part of our everyday lives. Before coming to college, much of my cell phone use in public was restricted the occasional text messages and listening to music. I did not spend much time surfing the internet on my phone, constantly checking apps like instagram, twitter, and facebook, unless I was alone and bored. However, once I got to Michigan State, I noticed that everyone’s eyes were glued to their phones everywhere I looked. At first glance I saw this simply as the rise of the technological age and assumed this was simply a result of our generation being connected to the internet from a young age. After talking with some of my classmates, most said that a lot of the time they spend looking at their phone is pointless and used more as a way to signal to others that they did not want to be bothered. Understanding that people will not bother you if you seem busy is almost like camouflaging yourself from having to engage in social interactions, and in our anxiety ridden society it makes perfect sense that this camouflaging technique would be a useful behavioral adaptation.

Technology is the main engine for the improvement of our species in many realms and it is our use of technology that has allowed us to adapt to our world in a multitude of ways never possible for our ancestors. The evolution of technology is therefore another aspect of our own evolution. Before cell phones were able to hold all of our contacts we had to memorize our friend’s phone number to call them. Before google maps was able to give us the fastest route to our destination, we had to look at a map or rely on our own memory of which streets. The cultures of technologically inclined societies have evolved a reliance on technology for everything that we do. Whether or not this a trait that will be selected for or against by natural selection is not something that we will be able to observe in our lifetime, but it is not hard to imagine the distress most of us would have if we were suddenly unplugged.