‘Technology and threats have a lot in common.’ The negative impact of technology on society has left no stone unturned in proving this statement right. Let’s get acquainted with more in the following write-up…
It is appallingly obvious our technology has exceeded our humanity. ~Albert Einstein
When I was a kid, we had a social life, and it was called ‘outside’. And look at today’s kids – Facebook, PlayStations, iPhones, Blackberries, and not to forget, television sets with 300 channels. My grandmother used to say, one day when technology would hover, humans would stop thinking before acting. This statement makes much of a sense, and why not? Technology has sidelined ‘patience’ from our lives. Every second that passes by is making us all the more dependent on technology. Some may call it a bliss, but some differ. They may agree to the fact that technology has eased up life, but they also believe that it has cast differences between us and our close ones. Think of it, with the help of Internet technology, we no longer meet our loved ones in person, who may be living in the same town as we are. Instead, we call, chat, or e-mail them.
What’s more, we become anxious when the coffee machine takes a millisecond more in dispensing the coffee. We become fretful when a song takes a minute extra to get downloaded. Impatient as we’ve become, we humans might have eradicated this thing called ‘waste of time’, but many of us are still unaware of the stupefying negative consequences of technology’s ubiquity in our life. Agriculture, business, media, etc. are some fields where technology has proved its mettle, but at the same time, the dreadfully negative consequences that it has led us to are worth a concern. So, why always talk about the positive impacts of technology on our society? It’s time to get real, and face the negatives too. The following bunch of words is an attempt towards understanding it all.
Impact on Communication
Hi-tech gadgets, fast pace, computer games, microwaved food, and not to ignore, instant communication – this is what technology has bestowed upon us. However, have we paid attention to our lifestyles? Do you know you have your wife and kids waiting for you to come back from the office after a long day, and spend time with you? But what do you do? The moment you step into the house, you switch on your laptop, and start checking mails, Facebook, and other latest updates. And if that’s over, you have the television waiting earnestly for you to switch it on. When do you talk to your family? This is how we define ‘relaxation’ today. The ultimate bliss! You might be friends with a thousand people on a social-networking site, but ask yourself, how many of them actually have a face-to-face interaction with you?
I do agree that technology and Internet access have rendered ease to communication methods, and it allows us to stay connected 24×7. However, till when? It’s ironic that even though we have lunch with our family, we’re busy browsing our Blackberry! And of course, that means that we’re a close-knit family, doesn’t it?
Impact on Education
Funny as it may sound, Google is God for students. Many of you might have stumbled upon this page hunting on what to write as an essay on ‘Negative Impact of Technology on Education and Society’. Well, there you have it all, a full-fledged essay. Yes, I do agree that there isn’t a source of information better than the Internet, and perhaps, can never be. However, don’t you think it has made students extremely lethargic? Consider college assignments. Today, in most of the schools and colleges, students are supposed to submit college assignments online. As a result, students spend a good hour searching for the best stuff on this platform that has virtually every information in this world. Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+S… assignment done.
The negative impact of technology on students is known universally. Kids today know more than anyone about the latest gadgets, gizmos, etc. Well, even I would like to confess that I know more about the latest cell phones than my dad does! Kids know how to operate them, play games in it, and get used to them. Gone are those days when leisure time was about creative recreational activities. Video games, PlayStations, iPhones, and Androids are the new thing! And then we blame ourselves for not being creative enough.
I totally support the fact that information technology has made our life unbelievably easy. Yes, it has. However, every revolution has its adversities associated. We cannot savor technology optimally if we close our eyes to the negatives, and they are extremely difficult to express here in a single write-up. Nevertheless, I would just like to conclude by saying that, an accomplishment is savored only when there are no strings of pain or stress attached to it. We might have the latest technology serving us big time, but unknowingly, we might be missing out on those teeny-weeny moments of happiness that life bestows on us. Correct me if you must.
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