By: Wonnell Jones
How Does Technology Really Effect Society
In our recent history we have witnessed technological advancements rise exponentially. Some individuals think technology influences the general public positively, yet others think it has more adverse effects. I believe that while technology has its negative outcomes, it has various profits. In this article I am going to talk about some of its advantages and its negative impacts also.
Effects of Computers
A standout amongst the most developed creations of our time is the computer. It possibly the best creation ever (beside lights and phone) and we generally grow better approaches to enhance it. Computers influence numerous parts of our everyday life: communication, medicine, entertainment, mathematics, agriculture, business and all other sciences. Due to the always-growing influence of computers there may be many downsides. Society as a hole is beginning to decline intellectually as well as socially. In essence, computers are creating dumber, antisocial people. These days we no longer have to know how spell or make simple computations because our computers are capable of doing these things. People can meet each other and create a relationship with out every physically meeting each other. We can even order anything we need over the Internet and have it shipped to us. With all of this said we may soon have a world that where no one leaves their houses due to the advancement in computer technology.
In a world where people no longer have to travel to buy goods and services, what are the effects on our health?
The Correlation Between Technology and Obesity
The increasing amount of time that people spend using computers, playing video games and watching TV is a major factor in rising rates of obesity worldwide, according to a new study by the CDC. Chatterjee and DeVol studied the economies and obesity rates for 1988–2009 in 27 countries. They stated that "For every 10 percentage point increase in information communications technology investment as a share of gross capital formation, the obesity rate climbs 1.4 percentage point on average—or roughly 4.2 million people in a nation the size of the United States." With the world beginning to advance further and further technologically, methods need to be put in place so that we can maximize society's benefits and minimize the negative effects.
The advancement of technology will create some serious problems that humans must prevent. I think there is a possibility humans can change their perspective and behavior with technology. For example, as the article pointed out, television can have some relationship with obesity. Maybe that could change if technology could limit that effect by showing the individual negative patterns when they try to watch tv. If more people understand how to be more responsible with technology, I believe it could cause more good than bad.
ReplyDeleteWith all of this technology the palms of ours hands, the future for human intelligence is in danger. There must be a way humans can come together to add more hands on intelligence into the new product that is because technology is a tool that is helping and hurting us also. Obesity is raising from home to home due to the excitement children have at the palm of there hand. If we were somehow able to limit the ability of technology for our younger generation then that would help tremendously.
ReplyDeleteIt appears that using technology daily has became an addiction for most. However, I believe that technology has became apart of life itself. Innovations has led devices to become handheld and this gives our world technology at the palm of our hands. This causes a few problems. First, the human race will become lazy because they do not have to physically move to shop, search for information and check daily news. It was a time that shopping was a trip and fetching the newspaper was a chore for children. Social media and different news outlets has replaced the importance of reading because information is given quicker than it once was. This has led to our generation to become dependent on television and computers and as a result less movement leads to obesity because everything we need is at the palm of our hands.
ReplyDeleteIt is true, in my opinion, that technology will end up having some adverse side affects with regards to modern-day society. The issue of privacy is one of the most important things that we must consider when implementing new technological advances. Google Glass, for example, is one of the most recent advances in technology that seems great at first glance. But it massively threatens some people's sense of security and privacy because there is a possibility that information about you can be sold and somebody could, in essence, know everything about who you are.
ReplyDeleteI definitely understand the concern with advancement in technology hurting our society. We develop new technology to improve the ways we do things so that they can be done easier, quicker, or more effectively. Even though this was meant to increase productivity, we sometimes become dependent on these advancements and either forget how to do things the traditional way or aren’t willing to do them the traditional way anymore. This class can act as an example for this point. As I become more accustomed to the luxury of being able to take the prerecorded class whenever and not have to physically go to class, I find myself reluctant to go to my other classes everyday. Even though using the prerecorded method can help increase productivity and makes learning quicker as well as easier, we can’t become fixated on this method and use it as a crutch. Another example of becoming dependent on technology is when someone loses their TV remote and refuses to get up and change the station manually. I hate to admit it but this is something I go through with my roommates way too often. We will spend 20 minutes tearing up the room looking for the remote so we can lie down and change the channel instead of just doing it manually whenever needed. Just as you mentioned in the blog when discussing communication through the phone and computer, society no longer communicates as well as it did in person since social networks were created. Making things easier doesn’t always mean they are better. My dad never taught me how to change a tire, but he taught me how to call AAA. My mom never taught me which store I should go to for the best apartment accessories, but its cool because I use amazon. I haven’t had to go to a library and use solely books for information and/or research since middle school, but that’s completely fine because I have Google. As a society, we cannot let ourselves become completely dependent on technology. I remember one time I procrastinated on some assignments and had a paper due the next day, but I wasn’t stressed because I still had a whole day to do it. It just so happened that on this day Wikipedia decided to have a black out where you couldn’t use the site. I didn’t know what else to use so I couldn’t write my paper and my older sister thought it was the funniest thing in the world to see how dependent I was on technology. So YES, advancements in technology can greatly benefit us, but we must be conscious on how dependent we are on these advancements in order to limit how much they hurt us.
ReplyDeleteTechnology is a blessing and a curse. It is amazing how much technology has developed over the last century. There is no doubt that technology has let us grow closer as society but it is also disappointing how much it has hindered our growth. The basic human functions of face-to-face communication, social skills, student’s classroom learning abilities have changed vastly. At the same time it has helped humans communicate on a different level that is more effective in the 21st century. I know that I value the “old fashion style” of communication and a more technology driven learning environment.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jarett that technology is a blessing and a curse. One of the most obvious downfalls to technology is that it is making many individuals lazy and physically unhealthy. Instead of being physically active, many humans are becoming couch potatoes. Also, instead of running and moving around to loose weight, individuals want to accomplish that goal with minimum effort resorting to surgery or a pill.
ReplyDelete