Monday, April 6, 2009

Technology's Social Impact and Forecasting the Future


Technology has created many conflicts. Its impacts are numerous. It ranges from psychological to social problems. People tend to rely on technology and it has given people access to an easier alternative to their difficult problems. People who has a hard time getting a job done, technology will help by creating simpler ways to get to it. In consequence, society rely more on technology than they will trust humans. There is too much dependency on machines that it can possibly make people become idle and their physicality would have a chance of decreasing. In addition, all sorts of technologies, ranging from an MP3 player to a computer, have become essential items for teenagers in our society today. Many teenagers today are faced with problems such as a lack of self-confidence, a lack of privacy, a decrease in academic standings, and many more. Although several students find that technology is essential and useful in a scholarly life, some may be affected by online applications such as instant-messaging. Students claim that it has given a negative affect on their reading and writing skills. Moreover, with the power of instant-messaging, people are creating new words that are quickly integrating in society. Even if these words were invented through technology, the majority of society today will recognize it. For instance, "lol" is an expression to imply "laughing out loud". In the novel 1984, Georges Orwell explains how the world has turned into a technological society and how it has invaded people's lives. Also, he creates in the story a language called "Newspeak", in which the citizens are forced to employ in their everyday conversations. The language simply eliminates all verbs and creates shorter sentences leaving only the necessary words and combining them to create simpler means. The world is more simplified, even in thought.


Furthermore, due to the number of machines multiplying in factories, people are thrown back into the streets and are left with no jobs. Therefore, technology can provoke a increase in unemployment. In addition, there are dangers to the development of technology. Online activities such as Lavalife, Facebook, and MySpace can induce dangerous consequences such as stalkers, rape, harassment, and others. These online activities can cause dangerous problems because of the lack of privacy in the Internet world.

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