Roughly 10,000 years ago the Neolithic evolution occurred. Man was no longer just being a hunter and gatherer. Then, Homo sapiens began to farm , create material goods , become herdsmen, using their brains, imagination and energy to create a more favorable environment for many . The Industrial Evolution followed in which machines then replaced human energy and human thought, Cybernetics, increased production and machines themselves assumed control of other machines within the production process. The evolution proceeded and this technology along with AI and other devices is headed in the direction of machines taking control of humans. Today,the young are faced with many psychological issues including but not limited to loneliness, boredom,depression, hate , suicide and low academic achievement . This essay associates these issues and “causes” with technology.
To begin, the newborn is limited and unable to distinguish between himself and the outside world. Freud called this state primary narcissism. Primary narcissism is a condition in which the infant loves himself , with supreme egotism only because he is unaware of any difference between himself and other people or objects in his life space . It is a state in which there is no relation to objects or people.
Developmentally , the infant proceeds and becomes able to overcome his magical thinking( omnipotent wish and control) to develop more of a realistic sense of reality between his own feelings and actions within his many experiences .And, realizes the limitations, that he is not the master of the universe. That his crying,tantrums and other noxious behaviors do not always result in gratification . Further, he develops insights and learns satisfying behaviors that crystallize and eventually he becomes able to meet his ego's need for Affiliation. And , with normal development , he is able to cooperate or reciprocate with an allied other, be able to please , win affection of another ,to adhere and remain loyal to a friend. If successful, that child proceeds and develops a state of secondary narcissism.
Proceeding to a state of secondary narcissism has extreme implications. To illustrate, as a school-age boy after school ,weekends and during summer vacation, I left the comfort of home and went to various neighbors to play . Sports were my passion and I had little difficulty taking part in these activities. In fact, my neighbor Henry had a basketball rim attached to his parents garage.and whenever I saw he was out shooting baskets, I joined him and met the ego need of Play- which is without purpose, like laughing, making jokes and participating in games,or sports. While playing sports, other ego needs were met, such as Achievement- achieving and mastering something difficult , to be independent, overcome obstacles, attain standards, to excel and deal with rivals,to increase self regard by successful exercise of talent was met and developed during those playful activities. Also, the ego need of Counteraction was met by overcoming obstacles, difficulties and challenges in maintaining self-respect and pride . Further, the ego need of Deference was met by admiring and praising other exceptional athletes. Even the ego need of Dominance was met being able to organize and persuade others to participate. The ego need of Exhibition -making an impression, to be seen and heard, to entertain, to entice others was also met. And moreover , the importance of having interpersonal relationships, friends, unions, children and family was the meeting of the ego need of Affiliation which was necessary for appropriate secondary narcissism and on the road to well-being. In essence, many ego needs were met in the state of secondary narcissism .
On the other hand, take a hypothetical male today. This fictitious or imaginary person has all the latest electronic gadgets and is more likely to spend time after school ,weekends and summers in a room or basement alone rather than spending time with others . And,is unable to develop or experience emotional intimacy. He’s passive and leads a boring life.Yet,his iPhone will be close as it’s his” security “ blanket, so to speak. He doesn't leave home without it and takes it to bed with close proximity. It's his attachment in which he is dependent upon overall even though it doesn't provide nourishment,warmth , being kissed, or being physically held. Electronic devices are good for some but not good for him. His luxury items are evil and make him more impersonal and vulnerable to manipulation.
The iPhone and video games , for example , provide constant and instant reinforcement and gratification. They do not provide or give the opportunity for the ego to develop the necessary frustration tolerance or appropriate delay of gratification or tolerance . It’s what I want, I’m entitled . It’s part of a narcissistic character structure. It's a paradise of superflicity. And, with addiction, results in making one passive and lazy .The device , the Interaction, is passive in the sense that it does not result in productivity, art , creativity or the ego need of sex . The repetitive stimulus response becomes addictive, resulting in more and more of a connection to this inhuman inorganic thing. Yes, one can achieve and become proficient in playing this game .. However,this inorganic device doesn't adequately meet the ego's need for affiliation.
This fictitious individual likely becomes irrationally attached to some social media group. And, because this loner individual has a faulty , incomplete ,emotionally toxic relationship with father, it’s more likely for him to act out in a rebellious,oppositional, or antisocial manner. Anti social behaviors like,hate and prejudice are unifications with these illusive associations . In other words, it's not surprising that this fictitious character has not developed. secondary narcissism-appropriate interpersonal and concrete relationships.thus not meeting what’s necessary for mental health - the ego need of affiliation
As far as education, learning and school is concerned, these electronic devices are terrific for stimulus response learning. “ However, when the material is impersonal and without meaning, that short term memory is quickly forgotten..For learning to be effective, it takes a form of significant meaning and then that individual can gather information, synthesize, interpret, relate and associate that material for long-term learning to take place. For example, there's plenty of online "classes." Simply put, being on one's computer, iPhone, one can answer questions with having the open book answers easily at hand. Its stimulus response behavior to those answers to those questions which are then quickly forgotten. The goal is not learning but simply to pass a course of requirements or answers to a test. In other words, reason, intellectual curiosity, and insightful inquiries are not developed or required. Short-term reciting of “facts”is quickly forgotten and is not learned . And now, students are able to present and submit written material or plagiarism based on some algorithm.
From a Gestalt -field theory point of view ,learning involves an ongoing, purposive person, interacting with his own perception within his psychological environment or life space. Need , a hypothetical tension system ,valence ,satiation ,levels of aspiration are concepts associated with productive learning. For example, if I wanted to learn about something important to me, a hypothetical state of tension is created and that learning becomes the goal. The only way to reduce the tension is to accomplish that learning goal . Of course there are barriers in the way and the activity has to have a positive valence. Or, if the activity becomes too repetitive, a negative valence occurs with satiation and learning stops.. Reading and/or interacting or listening to someone intelligent,for me ,is an activity with a positive valence. However, if or when the material becomes repetitive ,satiation sets in with a negative valence.
Surveys have expressed parental displeasure when they purchased various devices for their children. The parents recognize a problem but seem inept in dealing with their children Lately some school districts are now limiting iPhone usage at school. Not to dismiss the pressures for consensus, belonging and having what all the children have, brings back memories of my dear friend Jonathan and his three boys. While they were young, Jonathan and his wife, Tara, did their best to reduce the time the boys spent with their electronic devices despite opposition. I remember Jonathan remarking about that constant struggle with the boy's peer group .
Humans can be characterized as either having positive interactions with another; moving aggressively against another and/or withdrawing from others. Man is born a complex biological organism within a social life space . The normal process of development of secondary narcissism produces self-involvement with objects, people, groups, social organizations in the physical and social environment.
Residing with significant and various degrees of social isolation results in developing a negative self-concept and a plethora of psychological issues. With this being so, these individuals have difficulty distinguishing right from wrong;have an impaired aesthetic sense ,language impairments ,and are incapable of intelligent abstract thinking while their mental health suffers. Therefore, only living with a positive ratio in the “human’-electronic world results in having a biological organism with a unique type and emerging as a potentially humanistic or “healthy” psychological person.
In summation, from the beginning and proceeding to the end of life, humans continuously interact and develop through a series of different experiences in behaving, thinking and feeling. Harry Harlow's research demonstrated the necessary warmth of a caretaker with his rhesus monkeys during feeding that resulted in positive emotional experiences . Without that necessary. contact,those monkeys became "neurotic" . The importances of being human, of being reared and interacting with another human is emotionally ,intellectually and morally different than primarily with some robotic device. A few quotes follow. First, by Epicurus ," While the means which wisdom requires to ensure happiness throughout the whole of life, by far the most important is friendship." Einstein "Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school."And,"Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think." Confucius "The man of virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors." Marx "Luxury is no less an evil than poverty.”And Stanley Milgram. "It may be that we are puppets-that's controlled by the strings of society. But at least we are puppets with perception with awareness. And perhaps our awareness is the first step toward liberation."
PS
Full-page advertisement from Okta ((the world's identity company) found in the January 4, 2026, The New York Times: “AI agents on the rise? Put chaos on the decline.”
Reference
Bigge, Morris L. Learning Theories For Teachers.
Murray, Henry A. Explorations in Personality.
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