In what ways is the use of technology in Fahrenheit 451 similar in today's society?

The most prominent piece of technology depicted in Ray Bradbury's classic novel Fahrenheit 451 that is similar to modern technology are the massive televisions that take up entire parlor's walls. A current trend in technology is the obsession with bigger, more realistic televisions. Americans can even purchase projectors and use their white walls as massive screens, which is similar to Mildred's parlor walls. The interactive aspect of the parlor wall television shows is also similar to three-dimensional gaming systems, which have recently been developed and allow the user to virtually manipulate the movement of their character in the game.
Wireless headphones with Bluetooth capabilities are also eerily similar to the Seashell radios and the green bullet depicted in the novel. Clarisse also describes how much of her education is condensed and taught on a television with a film-teacher. Current trends in education are similar to those depicted in the novel as more and more students are being educated virtually. Cyber charter schools and online education is a growing field in America, where students can virtually attend school from the comfort of their home. The fact that the vast majority of citizens in Bradbury's novel spend the majority of their time consuming mindless entertainment rather than reading or enjoying nature corresponds to modern society's obsession with technology. In today's society, it seems like more and more people prefer staring at their phones than enjoying the outdoors or classic literature.

As in Fahrenheit 451, today we tend to be more plugged into machines than people. We may not be watching television shows on giant viewscreens that take up an entire wall, but we watch television on large screens. In addition, we are often plugged into our friends and family through Facebook, Instagram or e-mail, rather than through physical contact.
At the beginning of the novel Montag marvels that Clarisse is out taking a walk. Clarisse wonders why more people don't. In our society too, people often stay indoors, perhaps watching nature shows rather than experiencing nature directly.
Montag's wife would rather watch mindless television than have a conversation with her husband, and she definitely doesn't want to read books. Critics of today's world say that people are more likely to want to be on technology, such as their phones, than talking to the people around them.
In both worlds, technology has become such a powerful intermediary between people and reality that it poses a threat to human relationships.