Technology And Its Impact On Our Lives Argumentative Essay Example

Introduction:

Today, technology rules our lives, and it is because of this technology that we have been able to conquer the problem of time and space. Airplanes, jets, and internet have enabled us to travel and communicate with people all over the world, some of them we might not even had been able to come face-to-face with without technology in our lives. Some would say that technology has been a blessing and since it facilities communication and traveling to such an extent, we might think that it has brought us closer to one another. But, let’s face reality here, has it really? I would have to say no. We might be able to talk to our relatives and friends who do not live close to us, but have you seen a gathering of a few people sitting in the room or in any restaurant for that matter? Whenever I see that, I see individuals who may be sitting close on one another but they have their eyes constantly fixed on the screen of their mobile phones and tablets. Some I see taking picture all the time they appear to be together. What happened to good old fashioned lunches and dinners where people used to sit together and share jokes and their life experiences, the time where the elderly were able to speak a few words of wisdom to the young ones at the dining tables and during family gatherings and they listened?
There is also another side to the story; the one where technology provides innumerable benefits and makes our lives much easier. Technology has provided the students of today with education opportunities that they can gain access to just with the help of an internet connection. People can take online courses with Universities that they cannot afford to attend, and write research papers with the help of all the precious knowledge that the internet has to offer. Plus technology has led us way ahead in the field of medicine too. It has given us machines that could study the human body without having to cut it open. Surgeries that used to end up in insufferable pain could now be performed through laser treatments and various other techniques where the patient walks out of the hospital merely days after the procedure completely healthy and scar-free.
Technology, therefore, is a blessing as well as a nuisance depending upon how much role we allow it to play in our lives. Even though we might understand and appreciate the adverse consequences of technology, we can also not imagine our lives without it. The best that we can do is to try to control how we and our children make use of this gift and also try to minimize as much as possible, the harms that it could bring.

New technology launched and tested

Here’s an example of a very new technology that the Google company has tested and is trying to launch on a bigger scale; The Google Balloon technology. The company’s aim is to provide 100 percent access to the internet, especially to those areas of the world that have not been able to enjoy the privileges of high-speed internet to date. The company has already launched a few balloons into the atmosphere, and the initial test proved successful. This is how the technology works; these gigantic balloons float twice as high in the sky as the airplanes and are equipped with sensors that automatically guide the balloons further up or down into the atmosphere based on the wind direction and speed. These networks of balloons then pass on the signals to all the devices on earth that are equipped with internet facility
So far, Google has some 75 balloons airborne that are circling over the southern hemisphere. By the coming year, Google believes that it can create a 50-mile ring around the globe. It would surely be nice to have an internet connection even in the remote areas of the world, especially if you are sailing in the middle of the ocean. There are, however, many problems with the experiment. What if the balloons collapse in the atmosphere and all the expensive machinery comes crashing down? Also, is the internet this way really reliable? What would people do once the balloons sail past their range, and the connection cuts off? It is probably because so many flaws that the experiment is called a ‘loon experiment.' Whatever the end result, I’m sure that everyone wishes for the technology to be a success, so for now, let’s keep our figures crossed.

The benefits associated with technology

We discussed earlier how technology is a two sided coin and comes with a lot of benefits as well as troubles. Now, let’s explore the effects of technology in detail, starting with its benefits.

Communication

Many of us have relatives and loved ones who live in different countries. Technology has made it extremely easy for us to communicate with them, and the best thing is that the cost also isn’t as high anymore. Not very long ago, we used to spend numerous dollars in international calls but all that we need today is a Wi-Fi signal and a laptop. We could Skype, or make calls on Viber and also share pictures over networking sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp.
The aspect of communication is also quite helpful for businessmen as they can make long distance calls and carry out meetings through video conferencing with other colleagues present in other countries and with customers and shareholders. The communication carried out across the internet is not only speedy in the modern day age but is also extremely clear and the communication process user-friendly.

Health-care benefits:

With the medical problems being more fatal than ever before and even more contagious, technology provides us with a very easy way to keep up with these advancing diseases, bacteria, and viruses. The internet of today provides us with continuous access to information and doctors where we can easily solve minor problems like rashes and allergies. A very common example is WebMD. This is where people find solutions and cures to a number of problems and communicate with other patients and doctors to seek help.
In addition, the process of diagnosing patients has become far less painful and tedious with genius innovations like the MRI, X-ray and ultrasound machines. The doctors no more have to open up the patient to assess the damage, rather these machines allow the medical professionals sneak peeks into the human body and the process of treating the patient becomes that much easier. Technology has also enabled the doctors to keep track of all the prescriptions and medications of the patient and thereby reducing the likelihood of a patient taking non-prescribed drugs.

Benefits of education:

The field of education has also seen immense improvement along with technological innovations. The classrooms of today could very easily be adapted to suit the needs of special and disabled students and by doing so, provides them with just as much access to education. For instance, voice thread is software that uses the voice and pictures of the student and allows him/her to make a narrated project. This provides a substitute for written papers and projects. Sounding board is another piece of technology that aids the student who cannot write. The board like the letter of the alphabets has numerous symbols that the children use in order to communicate with others.
The teachers also have a variety of different teaching tools that they can choose from and make learning easier for the student. Also, Thanks to the social networking sites, the teachers are more accessible to the students, and they can ask and have answered any study-related questions that they might have any time of the day. Having easy access to information and organizing tools, it has become far easier for the teachers to prepare their daily lectures and test and exam papers.

Business

Many businessmen have been able to save millions in labor wages since a number of processes of production are being carried out by machines. Also, the success in many technological operations has increased the success rate of the research and development that is initiated by businessmen and this provides with plenty of opportunity for growth of the business. What’s more is that international partnerships have become far easier to initiate and maintain as the distances have been greatly reduced by technology. The businessman of today also has sufficient access to the customer and his choices and preferences that it has become simple to adapt the product that he sells to the specifications and requirements of the consumer and therefore newly launched merchandise have a greater chance of success.

Disadvantages associated with technology

There are many ways in which technology has impacted our lives in a way that has been less than pleasant. Here are a few.

Increased dependency on technology

Have you even left home and forgotten to take your phone along? The feeling is not pleasant. We have become so attached to this little piece of technology that we feel like we cannot function without it. We have to look at the time and we reach for our phone, if we have to search something on the internet, we need our phone and, what's more, is that we find it difficult to wake up on time in the mornings without alarm clocks at our bedside. This is how much technology has influenced our daily lives.
Also, if in case of theft or fire or any other technological glitch, any information in an office is lost, it takes weeks sometimes even months to get back on track. We cannot get work done if our information is lost. And the problem is that electronic devices are not very reliable and trusting them with our information and processes could sometimes prove harmful.

Reduced employment opportunities

Machines may provide efficiency and save time when doing work for us, but they are replacing people like the workers in offices and factories while people are constantly in search of jobs. The problem is that as the machines become more and more efficient, people will be left without work, and we might as well be very close to a time where men are replaced by machines.

Production and use and destructive weapons

Technology has also come with an inconvenience inform of weapons which make it very easy to take human life and not just that, but also wipe nations off of the face of the earth. A man is and has always been a violent creature, but technology has provided this man with means of destroying another. Hiroshima and Nagasaki is a very common example before our eyes. August 6th, 1945, with two nuclear bombs two cities had burnt to ashes. The sad thing, however, is that even after so much time; the two cities have still not been able to recover from the catastrophe.

Effects on Interpersonal Communications

Technology is greatly affecting the way in which we are communicating with people. We may be talking to or exchanging ideas with more people, but the style of our communication has shifted. Today, we prefer to e-mail or send a text message rather than talk face-to-face with a person. The real problem here is that unless we are communicating face-to-face, we cannot make our communications very personal. The major reason is that when taking to the social media or over a telephone, we are missing a very integral part of the communication, which is the non-verbal communication or, in other words, the person’s body language. In many communications, the non-verbal indications play 65 to 93% part in understanding the message behind what is being said. This is the part that we are missing out on when communication through e-mails and text messages.

Examples of a few technologies

Let’s understand the message a little better with the help of a few examples. Explained below are a few technologies that we use in our lives and the impacts that they have.

Genetic Engineering

Genetic engineering has been and will remain the fastest growing field of technology. It has given us many rewards and has given us crops and food of our choice in terms of agriculture, bigger and better livestock, and many ways to prevent diseases. But with great success in the field came greater worry. Plants may have become resistant to insects but are proving to be more toxic. The animals produce more milk but have become deformed and overgrown.
The impact of genetic engineering on our lives has been more disturbing than productive. Genetically engineered plants have been seen to cause disease as they transfer the mutated genes for disease into the body of the person who consumes these plants. This theory was proved in the year 1996 when soybean was crossed with the Brazilian nut and used as animal feed. Alarm arose when the animals that were given this feed exhibited allergy to nuts. This technology also poses a threat to the environment as the wildlife gets infected with the poisonous plant, and the weeds are also becoming resistant to pesticides.

The nuclear power plant

Another aspect of the technological innovations is the nuclear power plant that caters for our everyday needs for electricity. They provide electricity at a considerably low cost because only a small amount of Uranium is required as fuel. Only 28 grams of Uranium produces energy that is equal to the energy produced by 100 metric tons of coal. Additionally, the nuclear power plant generates around $470 million in revenue every year and creates between 400 and 700 permanent jobs for the labor force. The salaries paid by these jobs are 36 percent more that the average salaries earned in the United States. Not to mention the jobs that are created in the course of the construction of the nuclear power plants.
There are however also a few negative sides to this technology. Nuclear power generation produces radioactive waste that if not disposed of properly, could prove extremely hazardous to the environment and to people who are exposed to these radiations. And, the solid waste is not the only problem. Nuclear power generation also produces fumes that could be toxic to people who work at the reactors over prolonged periods. Nuclear accidents at the plants could also have devastating impacts and if radioactive material is released into the atmosphere, it could cause several health problems including cancer and may lead to mutations in the human and animal populations in the long run. The nuclear waste disposed of off into the oceans and rivers is not only contaminating the water but is also reducing aquatic life.

Digital video games

The video games are very popular amongst teenagers and children and also with a few adults who use it as means of entertainment and ways to relive the stress of life. These video games now come in 3D with amazing graphic quality so much that the player feels like he/she is actually participating in the game rather than operating just a simple remote control. What’s amazing is that the players in the games today can also bring a more personal touch to the game by creating avatars of themselves.
These games build in the players strategic skills and make them somewhat smarter. Quite a handful of these games is also played online where people can actually communicate and exchange ideas with other players. This considerably improves their communication skills and brings them closer to people who share the same interests.
The experience, however, is not just benefits. This technology has taken up much of the youngsters’ attention and rather than participating in outdoors activities, they spend their days and nights in front of screens. And even though the kids playing these games may be coming close to a few people that they haven’t seen or met before in most of the cases, it can never compare to the actual experience of socializing with friends and making new connections. Sadly, people are replacing machines as friends in our children’s lives as well.

IPads and smartphones

Our palm devices are serving a number of different purposes in our lives. We use these devices on watches and computers and when in need, we also use them as global positioning systems. These devices tell us where we should eat, that is; all the different restaurants that are in our immediate vicinity. An added perk is their ability to be doubled as communications devices. They keep us close to our parents, our friends and others in our lives. These palm-sized computers are what we cannot live without and the benefits that these devices offer cannot be found in any other single device.
The problem, however, is that these very devices are also the primary source of our distraction, whether we are in the class or with friends or having family time. Also, since all of our needs are at the tip of our fingers, it is making us lazier and we hardly want to make any effort at jobs that require the use of our analytical or strategic skills.

Conclusion

Technology is a two sided sword that if not used properly, could destroy us in many ways. Abandoning the use of this technology is not an option and with the use of every piece of equipment also comes the destructive side. The safest way to keep it in our lives is to establish uses for technology that do not harm anyone around us. The role that technology is allowed to play in our lives should also be kept at a minimum. Only then can be a benefit to the fullest from the conveniences of technology.

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