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Technology and the future provide an unmatched collection of information on the ways in which technology shapes society and communities, while the technology itself gets shaped by the social trends (Teich 13). In the current days, it is very easy to complete many things extremely fast and efficiently using Internet electronically and through other wireless tools, which enhance communication and sharing of news between one person and another. Sharing valuable documents has also become extraordinarily easy using e-mails, instant messaging and the use of social media networks. Since the development of the first computer in 1958, human race has been developing and advancing web technologies and web services like Google search. With the advancement in the technology, there came advancement in human dependency on the services, which has entirely altered how the people view and perceive the world and how they complete things (Tansey 205).
Positive Impact of Technology on the Society
In the day-to-day life, people come across many obstacles that would be exceedingly difficult to solve without the use of technology. Such obstacles include communications between the organizations or other groups of people and completing college assignments. However, the invention of Internet, mobile phones, word processors and virtual libraries in computers has made work extremely easy for people of all occupations. People use emails and instant messages to pass messages ultra fast instead of using snail-mails or letters, or even having to wait for one-on-one meetings.
Technological advancements have been immensely influential in helping governments deal with terrorism and use intelligence information to predict the terrorism patterns across the globe. Through advanced technology and screening, it is almost impossible for terrorists to gain entry to some countries, especially the developed ones. Advancements in weapon design and technology continue to increase the effectiveness of armed forces in their duties of ensuring safety for the society. Encryption of sensitive data also enables the intelligence service agencies to obtain added security.
Negative Impact of Technology on Society
The technology advancement has resulted in the devolution of the human beings not to rely on common sense, instinct or responsibility, but on a machine in making decisions and completing the majority of the tasks (Das, 3). Human interactions also suffered a terrific deal, as people get addicted to Facebook and other social media networks. Recent research in New York shows that a majority of teenagers, and a significant number of adults love using Facebook, as they consider it as a newsroom and gossip area, where a person gets to know everything that is happening everywhere. People not have to engage in gossiping with the friends, since they can get all the updates from the site. This profoundly affects people’s communication skills as no one pays attention to personal meetings. At one point, Albert Einstein said that he fears for the day that technology will overpower human interaction, since then; there will be a generation of idiots. That time seems to have arrived, since every person has a gadget, whether a phone, a tablet or a computer, with which he spends so much time.
Internet, cell phones and other electronic devices act as resources and tools, to make work easier for people, but not life-support as people portray them; the dependency on these tools is helping people destroy themselves by destroying the ability to think for themselves. Technology has not only has a destructive influence on people, but also has the potential of destroying humanity. If technology is to invade all parts of people’s lives, then it will have the ability of transforming the whole world into an Orwell’s world. Technology is shaping the world and mostly in a negative way. Firstly, there is an increased invasion on people’s privacy. Internet provided ways through which information flows and spreads out throughout the world. People’s personal and private information finds their way in Internet, and the increasing rates of cybercrimes have seen invasion of such information. Online criminals are using technology to defraud people, steal from bank accounts, and use identity theft to commit crimes as a different person. In light of this, every person’s life seems insecure including those of organizations’, since their confidential information can, as well, be accessed through hacking (Tansey 208). Moreover, the use of social networks allows people to share their personal information, where a random person can access personal information. This also makes things easy for stalkers, since they only need to check people’s updates to locate them.
Many people base their goals and objectives upon technology advancements, but this should not be such a desired goal. In the face of technological advancements, society becomes less motivated, less tolerant and increasingly sluggish. People become too focused on their goals and expect things to be one faster and efficiently without focusing on the methods of accomplishing such goals. This is a crucial issue among many people in modern society. Technology has also affected employee’s motivation, since people get concerned with finishing their work faster without thinking of its side effects. Laziness is another element that is an outcome of advancement in technology. Once people get new technologies in place, they become dependent on them, and they do not know how to work or move along without the technology. In the event that the technology systems fail, work literally comes to a standstill, since people cannot work without the systems.
Technology advancements have given people the power to riot and protest against their governments. There is no doubt that use of twitter and other social networks is becoming increasingly popular, informing people of what has been happening (Teich 91). Citizens use such Medias to capture information of what is happening; then, they transmit the evidence of abuses to other people in the outside world. Technology, therefore, acts as an accelerant to such protests.
While technology has a significant impact on society, societal trends also affect technological advancement. According to Teich (13), as time progresses, people start seeking more complicated and sophisticated ways of solving their problems. The current technology seems inadequate, and, thus, people start looking for better techniques in the market. On the one hand, this encourages invention of new technology on a day-to-day basis, as technologists seek to satisfy the needs of the people. On the other hand, societies that are native and conservative experience lowers technological advancement, since most of them regard technology as harmful and unnecessary (Lin and Carolyne 35). There are societies that oppose to the use of technologies, since they feel that lead to moral decay, and such societies experience a relatively low rate of technological advancements. It is, therefore, prudent to accept the fact that advancement in technology also depends on the societal values and perceptions.
Technological advancements are a double-edged sword, which is extremely helpful to the human race on the one side and hugely destructive on the other side. However, the decision to use this advancement proficiently lies with a person’s own choice and decision. Appropriate use of technology will undoubtedly inspire further development, which is helpful to entire society. On the other, negative usage of technology can create massive havoc for humanity and the world at large. Morality will decay, and cybercrimes will reach intolerable levels. Human interactions will suffer a mighty blow, and verbal communication may become extinct.