There has been an ongoing debate for years concerning the question as to whether or not technology is a good or bad thing. Truth is, not all arguments have a right or wrong side, technology is exactly this way. There's a good side to technology, a bad side and even an ugly side. The import part of technology is not deciding whether or not it is good or bad, the important part is knowing the reasons it can be both.
The good:
1. The cell phone: keeps us connected with family and friends from all over. Instead of sending a letter to someone and waiting weeks for a reply, we can now take a few seconds and send someone a message through online messaging.
2. The internet: We are able to stay updated on current events. And by current, I mean within the last hour. If we had to wait for the weekly newspaper to come out to find all of our information, we would be a week behind. News changes within minutes and with technology, we can stay updated as the minutes go by.
3. The internet: Information is endless. The world wide web has the answer. There is no need to go out and buy a dictionary any longer, we can now get on our phones and enter the word and find all the information a dictionary would have without all the hassle.
4. The cell phone: An emergency has an answer. With a phone in hand, we can almost always have direct access to an emergency contact in case something is going wrong.
5. The camera: We have a photographic memory. The camera allows us to keep a piece of every memory. Having a picture to look back on in later years is a solid way to be reminded of what happened in the past.
6. Medical Technology: Saving lives. Without the technological advances we have seen in the medical field, we would have lost so many more lives throughout the years because of different illnesses.
The bad:
1. The cell phone: We are disconnected to the things right in front of us. With our cell phones in front of our face all day, we miss all the little things that happen in life each day. We miss out on a lot of laughs, smiles, sunsets, wise words and so much more.
2. The internet: We are becoming impatiant. Since the internet is right at our finger tips, we have become very impatient. We expect everything we need to be found in a matter of seconds.
3. The internet: We have lost all communication skills. Who needs to communicate in person when they can communicate through a computer screen. Any given person is 10 times more comfortable in front of a screen.
4. Social media: We are too worried about likes. Instead of worrying about bettering ourselves, we are just worried about what time to post our selfie so we can get the most likes.
the ugly
1. Social media: bullying. As I stated before, people will say much more behind a computer screen than they will in person. This is where bullying becomes extreme.
2. Internet: catfish. There are so many ways to pretend to be someone you are not with the Internet. Anyone can use another persons photos for themselves and pretend that it is them. This is scary when we think about the people who go out and actually meet these fake people. They can be sexually assaulted, kid napped, etc. etc.
3. Internet/cell phone: kids cannot be kids. There is so much pressure to have a phone or have a computer and keep up with the latest gossip and/or social media. There is little time for kids to just be kids nowadays.
4. Social media/cell phones/video games : obesity: I will never be ignorant enough to say that technology causes children to be obese but I will also never be ignorant enough to say that it does not play a big role in the increase amount of obesity in the United States. We need to push our kids to put down the phone, close the laptop, put the video game to rest and GO OUTSIDE!
5. Social media: privacy: There is none. We put it all out there for the world to see and even if we think our profiles our "private" there is always a way to access our information. It's a scary but very real thing.
