The sacrifice made by most humans for technology is astonishingly high. We don't realize it, but I estimate the number of computers (anything with a microprocessor/processor) to be between 30 - 50 (In America). Our lives are completely surrounded by this wonderful yet possibly extremely dangerous technology.
In college I was required to take a course on computer ethics. I gave an hour long speech on the subject of "The Effect of Computer Technology in Society".
Yes without a doubt computers have made life easier more convenient. Ex. No need to get up 10 minutes earlier to fix the coffee pot, when you can program it to come on at a given time. With this technology and its constant evolving in our day to day comes a great deal of accountability for its usage. There is no perfect solution to this often overly looked epidemic, partly because it effects almost every aspect of our lives: from personal, government, even religion.
With that stated I'd like to point out a few examples of what technology has brought us, along with what it has taken away:
1. Its enabled us to stay in touch with friends and family without time or space restrictions through the use of satellite communications.
2. Saved countless lives through medical advancements which only 20-30 years ago would have been impossible.
3. Made the human worker more productive using PC's and machines to aid in business and production.
Negative:
1. Continuously taken away our ability to communicate effectively through the use of social networking sites. In a sense relieving ourselves of accountability and responsibility for how we treat one another on these virtual sites.
2. Turned the theoretical idea of splitting the atom into reality therefore making weapons of mass destruction an achievable goal.
3. Eliminated hundreds of thousands of jobs, by essentially replacing them machines that can work all day all night, have minimum downtime, no need for benefits, retirement funds etc. etc.
This is Part 1 of many. Coming from an individual with BS in Computer Science it may sound hypocritical. But I think this is just the tip of an iceberg already beginning to collapse.
I have to agree completely!
ReplyDeleteTechnology has also made us lazy! I often wonder how on earth the majority of our population would survive if thrown back in time, oh say 150 years.
I hate that communication is made so easy, because it makes me very lazy, I don't visit in person, or call people as much as I should. I mean I can type a text or email in no time flat and eliminate any chit chat.
I'm the same way. This is a conundrum.... on one hand technology aids us in every aspect of life, from laundry and health care while stripping us of individuality and pushing families and cultures further apart. I plan on writing much more about the subject and hope to tie it into parenthood.
ReplyDelete>> WE ARE AWESOME !!!!
ReplyDelete>> OUR LIFE IS LIVING PROOF !!!!
>> To Those of Us Born
>> 1930 - 1979
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE
1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s & 70s
>>
>> First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes.
>> Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered
>> with bright colored lead-base paints.
>> We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes,we had baseball caps not helmets on our heads.
>> As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.
>> Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.
>> We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.
>> We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this.
>> We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And, we weren't overweight.. WHY?
>> Because we were always outside playing...that's why!
>> We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on..
>> No one was able to reach us all day. And, we were OKAY.
>> We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps
>> and then ride them down the hill,
>> only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem
>> We did not have Play stations, Nintendo's and X-boxes.. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's,
>> no surround-sound or CD's,
>> no cell phones,
>> no personal computers,
>> no Internet and no chat rooms.
>> WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
>> We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
>> We would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping pong paddles, or just a bare hand and no one would call child services to report abuse.
>> We ate worms and mud pies
>> made from dirt, and
>> the worms did not live in us forever.
>> We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not poke out very many eyes.
>> We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them.
>> Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team.
>> Those who didn't had to learn
>> to deal with disappointment.
>> Imagine that!!
>> The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
>> These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.
>> The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
>> We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
>> If YOU are one of them, CONGRATULATIONS!
>> You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good.
>> While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave and lucky their parents were.
>> Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it ?
>> Jay Leno
Our current Techno age certainly isn't helping the youth of this country. Many do not know how to spell, cannot make "change" when given cash and worse yet, many don't even know how to write letters or English papers. But hey they know how to text!
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, in my age group(lol) it certainly has opened the doors of knowledge. Google is my friend....want to know how to do something...google it.....don't know the meaning of the word....google it. While the age of technology has made somethings easier it has complicated others.
Certainly banking and shopping on the internet is wonderfully convenient. But on the dark side, porn and child molesters have found an arena like no other, fueled by the internet it has shown just how sick our world has become.
And time, let's talk about time. I don't have the "time" I had 15 yrs ago. Why is that, well by the time I come in, check my email, read my daily blogs, blog on my blog, pay my bills, respond to emails...there is no time. So all in all, the techno age is making me lose time! Yikes!!!
So much truth.. I agree with most everything that has been said but now on to the darker side of what the freedom of information act, the internet , second to second news flashes has brought upon us.
ReplyDelete