Technology has made life easier but…

Over the years, man has utilized his 3 pound organ to reduce the work done by his muscles, to increase the mass of work done, to increase the quality of job done, to improve the speed at which it is done, and various other functions.

Technology according to the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary is defined as “the practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area” while Oxford dictionary defines it as “the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry”.

The online encyclopedia Wikipedia defines technology in details as “the making, modification, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems, and methods of organization, in order to solve a problem, improve a preexisting solution to a problem, achieve a goal, handle an applied input/output relation or performing a specific function.”

Image: laptopmag

There is no iota of doubt that technology has done many wonders over centuries and it’s still doing it till today, a statement of how technology has been a vital part of human life. Technology was a vital part of world civilization, I don’t think I will be exaggerating if I said civilization would have been almost impossible if the was no technology to aid it. American astronomer Carl Sagan once said: “We’ve arranged a civilization in which most crucial elements profoundly depend on science and technology.”

From the time we wake up in the morning till the time we go back to bed at night, we are always experiencing technology. The modern man has got so used to technology that he can no longer see a life without technology and I’m not in any way hoping for that to happen.

Perhaps, one thing many people have never taken time to consider is if this overuse of technology has not been having side effects on our daily lives. Have you forgotten how you spent three hours online when you just wanted to check updates? The other day, a school student watched movies while there was school assignment to be done and home chores to be completed.

I once saw a stat online that stated that TV is on for an average of 7.4 hours in an American home. Observations have shown that technology has not taken an alarming toll on fully grown adults compared to youths and upcoming teenagers.

Adults in their 40s and 50s may not be vulnerable to the side effects of technology because it was not very prominent during their developmental stage. The young generation however is not so lucky for lack of a better word. Nowadays, a child has been using technology even from the womb, he uses it throughout his/her developmental stage and if care is not taken is unable to do important things that will contribute to his/her success story.

The internet as one of the pillars of technology has turned into addiction pit for various people keeping them from doing things that are really important. You are correct if you argue that information is now readily available to people because of the internet, but can it be boldly said that education has improved worldwide because of the internet?

A study performed by Kansas University researchers earlier this year revealed that online users waste about 60 to 80% of their time on the internet without actually doing things related to work. Older people spent most time on their finance while youth spent theirs on social site. All this was done while they knew it was against their company’s policy. A survey carried out by Experian Marketing Services concluded that users in the US spent 16 minutes of every hour (27%) online on a social site, 13 minutes in the UK and 14 minutes for Australian users.

Industrial wastes are destroying the ozone layer; people are being trapped and killed from social media sites, people lose their jobs and some get arrested as a result of careless updates online. Horrible diseases are now common as a result of heavily processed foods and exposure to dangerous radiations.

Solitude which most of the ancient geniuses credited for their magical works and inventions is lost today in this noisy world which was aided by technology. Why do you even need to think when most of your problems are already solved by technology?

Author and poet Gertrude Stein said: “everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.” A quote from the world’s richest man though it’s about business, is applicable to other aspects of life and explains how technology used in the wrong way could be fatal.

Microsoft owner Bill Gates said: “The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.”

English writer Aldous Huxley also said: “Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards.” French writer Antoine de Saint Exupery added to the matter: “The machine does not isolate man from the great problems of nature but plunges him more deeply into them.”

A wise saying says that too much of everything is bad. Too much of technology is undoubtedly having overwhelming side effects on adults and especially growing youths, to the extent that its use needs to be curbed. David Cameron, how do we censor this?

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