In this day and age, the
incredible amount of technology usage has become quite normal. With the over-usage has come over-dependence. Over-dependence of technology has become deleterious because it
can distract multitudes of people from more important things, it has caused
humans in general to become less efficient, and it has reduced face to face
social interactions. Positive results
have come from this evolution of technology, but ill-effects have also resulted
because of it. Some people have noticed this, yet some
people have not. Most likely, the people who have noticed
the amount of technology dependence see it in those who are all around them.
Students logging on to
Facebook instead of starting their homework has become quite common. Housewives also sometimes read blogs instead
of doing the dishes or the laundry. Today's computer
technology has become distracting for most people and they do not accomplish
their more important tasks. Many people can have
separation anxiety because of long periods without their computer or cell phone
at their finger tips. This causes one to leave
the dirty dishes in the sink so that they can go check their email or see if
they have any notifications on Facebook. As a result,
ignored dirty laundry, dirty dishes, and dust accumulate. When tasks pile up in unmanageable amounts because of
procrastination, one may regret not doing these chores afterwards and only
afterwards. Beforehand, house wife may not anticipate
these happenings, resulting in more work than before.
Humans tend to depend
on technology so much that slowly the populace has become less efficient. Housewives may need to know how many cups in a pint. They simply sit down in front of the computer, type in their
question, and they find the answer. Yet, people only tend to
retain such information as long as they need to. If they forget the answer, they simply look it up once
again. Long ago, such technology did not exist, and women
did not need to look up how much a pinch requires, or how many teaspoons in a
tablespoon, or how many friends she had on Facebook. She simply remembered the important things. As humans depend more and more on technology, they do not need
to retain as much information as they needed to before. Information will rest at the fingertips
constantly. Therefore, people do not have to remember;
they simply look it up, and forget once again.
Today, people mainly
socially interact with each other through Myspace, Twitter, and Facebook. People who do not have a life-long companion
resort to dating sites. Physical social
interactions become less and less popular. Communication online comes with more ease than talking face-to-face, anyway. Why go through the trouble of keeping up a conversation when one
cannot think about what to say before he or she says it? Instead, people pull out their cell phones, or open up Facebook
to chat with friends. Millions have forgotten
how to communicate in “real life”. Texting has made talking
to a teen’s crush much easier. Yet, males and females
alike find it difficult to talk to each other in person. Elaine Swann, a 21st century etiquette expert, says,
“I think because of the fact that we can kind of hide or sit, you know, behind our
computers screen, some individuals have a tendency to share information that
they might not otherwise share if they were standing face to face with someone.” She basically says that humans feel more timid in “real life” to
give out information or to interact with someone as opposed how they would feel
online. All of this ties into one thing; humanity has
started to depend more and more on technology to say things they otherwise
would not say to someone in real life.
Although the technology
has helped this world, adverse effects have also resulted. Chilren sit up in their rooms chatting on Facebook instead of sitting
in the family room, bonding with family. Sometimes this can cause families to grow apart. General Omar Nelson
Bradley once said, “Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. If
we continue to develop our technology without wisdom or prudence, our servant may
prove to be our executioner.” If we continue to update
technology and create more to help us, eventually, it will cause more harm than
help. Even though complete dependence on technology can
cause damage, restricted use may not. Technology, if used in
moderation, can produce positive effects. As time goes
on, however, more scientists will unveil newly invented gadgets and the society
will have to depend less on themselves to accomplish tasks. This will cause individuals to become less and less efficient
and social. Few people can remember the days before
technology. Those people can testify how much of a
change technology has brought about, yet they yearn for the past days when life
had simplicity without all this technology.
