Whether technological progress limit the free thinking of human depends on which sides of human’s nature they think for themselves from, good or bad.
Some anthropologic experts argue that people are getting more stupid these days, considering the aggression and greed of human nature. With the technology especially Internet rapidly advancing, teenagers could search for everything they desire, which allure youngsters to form a radical and degraded idea ruining their inchoate values. Watching their ears commonly glued to Iphone, hands held with latest PSP without main thought focused on studying and reading, can we feel relieved about their psychological health?
When human wanted continuous wealth, they would take advantage of their advanced technology to invade other countries and predate the treasure there at any cost breaking the expectation of human peaceful co-existence; when human wanted additional resources, they would with advanced machine cut down countless trees or tap much coal mines and oil fields which aggravate grim pollution, which contribute to the further question that are man the integral part of the nature. I believe people in the past having a harmony idea of the world rather than a idea of destroying our beautiful home without profound thinking won't anticipate our modern condition.
However, technology does not necessarily preclude the creativity and imagination that mark the human species. Considering the enhanced standard of lifetime, housing condition, education, medical treatment and so on owing to the revolution of technology, we human get free from these enduring suffering problems to think thoroughly for ourselves. Accompanied with an intelligent assistant of technology, human are able to introspect themselves in the changeable and complicate surroundings and make striking spiritual enhancement. Indeed, the advent of Internet allow an unprecedented exchange of fresh ideas among network. Like me, I ever learned a new vista about signal processing from an incisive article of some master on net, but for the convenient intercommunication on web may I be kept in the dark about my subjects.
Technology and science is not everything. Human can not embrace an utter acceptant posture to the use of technology in view of the enduring issues out of human bad nature. Nevertheless, harnessed correctly, technology can also improve our ability to think and act for ourselves. To sum up, technology will be a beneficial and available instrument to open up a new avenue of free thinking as long as human make use of it properly.