The Negativity of Technology

I believe most people would have watched the famous “Terminator” series of movies. For the benefit of those that didn’t, the plot exaggerates the negative effects of what technology can bring to mankind. However in a much lower degree, technology does have its negative implications.

Today, our lives would not be separated with technology, no part of our daily lives would be completed without technology, take a student for example, doing assignments, travelling to school on time, easy access to resources, none of which would not be done without engineering of public transport and the personal computer, they are just common things that we would do in our daily lives, and it is technology’s integration into our lives that made us simply forget about its We all know about technology brings about benefits, in fact the word has been always associated with good, without anyone questioning. However it does bring about certain disadvantages to societies

A computer brings about many benefits, one would use it for work or entertainment, regardless of age and nationality, people would communicate online at chat rooms, increasingly blurring the definition of distance. However this was the root of disconnection between family members. Parents would work in the day, and when returned, could not get a chance to communicate with their children as they often indulge themselves in chat rooms. Not only that, dangers at internet chat rooms and the eventual meeting with strangers would lead to the creation of young victims of sexual assaults. When we look at some of the guidelines by the creator of the MSN Messenger, which is popular today, the dangers that appeared are suggested by the guidelines when chatting online¹

Teenagers that indulged in online computer games would often get reality and cyber world mixed up. They would associate themselves with the identity that is portrayed in the games, however the fact that the cyber world is very unlike the real world, they would often find themselves in trouble.

On a larger picture, the economy of the day too relied heavily on technology. Every financial tool that the common people can access, be it ATM or internet banking, are all made possible with technology. Undeniably the stock exchange of every country would constitute the liquidity of the country’s economy as stock exchanges all over the world, with the aid of fast communication technology is able to communicate with each other that economies of the world intertwined and depended on one another for survival. Stock market crashes that happened in 1987 and the subprime mortgage crisis now are the results of an interlinked global economy.

The most devastating aspect that technology would bring to the global society is nothing but war. As we have known war would sprout economic instability, which in turn would mean that one country’s war would become every country’s problem. Yet technology has created the possibilities of war with just a push of a button previously², without the need to mobilize troops. As the world gets advances and globalised, it is not surprising that the flames of war would be easily lit just like what was described of the world before the Great War as a burning cauldron.

In conclusion, it is undeniable that we could no longer carry on our lives without the aid of technology; it has since been integrated into our lives and seemed to become organic. We should however, always beware about what negative aspects technology can bring about to our lives.

Citations

1. Safety Tips For Chat Rooms. Microsoft Corporation. (http://www.microsoft.com/protect/family/activities/chatrooms.mspx)
2. Video on Titan II Missile Silo Museum. History Channel – Lost Worlds: Secret A Bomb Factories (http://www.thehistorychannel.co.uk/site/tv_guide/full_details/World_history/programme_457.php)