How have electronic devices changed our world?

One World Essay: How Have Electronic Devices Changed Our World?

Written by Tejal Vora

Technology is neither good nor bad, nor even neutral. Technology is one part of the complex of relationships that people form with each other and the world around them; it simply cannot be understood outside of that concept - Samuel Collins, a doctor in the 17th Century[1].

The topic of this essay is electronic gadgets and the impact they have had on our lives. This essay will discuss both the positive and negative aspects of this controversial topic and whether it will lead us to prosperity or devastation, success or downfall. In this country and other developed countries, technology is a part of our everyday lives. We are surrounded by machines and technological articles, but is it a curse or a blessing? Like every other scientific progression, technology has changed the world, but whether it is for the best of our planet or the worst is yet to be decided.

Imagine a life without an oven to cook food for you or having to salt food that you wish to conserve as opposed to simply placing it in a refrigerator. The truth is that most of us would be terrified at the prospect of living without these luxuries as they do massively reduce human effort, but what happens when the envelope is pushed and machines step over the line.

Technology is all around us and has been developed for our benefit. For instance, people wanted an easy form of communication, the telephone was invented. People needed information fast, thus was created the internet. The fact is that technology had made us who we are today, some argue it has made us lazy as everything we do has something in one shape or form to do with technology but others say that it is one of the first steps in a modern society. It’s not really our fault though, as these different forms of technology are often forced upon us with the latest trends and persistent advertisements. Earlier, no one had a phone and a laptop & nowadays everywhere you look you see a blackberry or an iphone which is essentially a combination of both in advanced form.

These days, many people are working parents and do not have time to look after their child therefore a solution has been created. A pushchair that has the ability to rock and sway itself. There is even a teddy bear built in with an mp3 player which sing lullabies to a child and even reads the child stories [2]. This is a viable option for parents and proves to be immensely useful to busy families, but from an ethical point of view, isn’t rocking, singing and reading a parent’s job? Is it right for a parent to be replaced by an ...

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The internet, possibly man’s greatest invention. The internet (put in a complex way) is a worldwide, publicly accessible series of interconnected computer networks that transmit data by packet switching using the standard Internet Protocol (IP) [4]. The World Wide Web has all the answers to approximately every question that has ever been asked. The internet has made our lives so much easier; it helps us do our shopping, research & even just recreational use.

It also holds a portal to affecting social societies. Facebook. Bebo. Myspace. Etc. All of these are popular social networking sites designed to help friends and family keep in touch. Though all of these websites do achieve their goal, there is always a price to pay. Teenagers often have competitions with the amount of contacts they have, and in a bid to win this contest they may add random strangers with whom they have no relation or connection [6]. This can get dangerous very quickly as demonstrated in the latest case of murder. Mr Peter Chapman led a young girl named Ashleigh Hall to believe he was in love with her all through their internet connections, he then met her and proceeded to rape then kill her [7]. This is not the only social fault, research has also shown that these types of social networking sites depletes your social skills and also wavers your focus and concentration when doing other things such as homework; this is why schools and government buildings block access [8].

The world looks to England as an economic example as we have a history of a thriving economy. Recession has taken its toll but our economy still stands to value. Technology often creates opportunity for a larger income as a country but with more machines to do or help around business places means less people needed to pay salaries to, thus this results in unemployment [9]. At the moment in England, unemployment is at an all time high. This graph shows that January 2010 has been the worst point of unemployment for people in the working age group as well as being a continuance of unemployment in the first graph [11].

The Sixties was a time for flower power; how quickly that ended! With the widespread technological institutes and facilities, hi-tech equipment and programmes can get into the wrong hands very quickly. Our country has been the centre of political power for a long period of time and we would never want that position to be challenged so we create a means of force that only we have the technology to reinforce, an atom bomb [12]. Technology is what created the Atomic Bombs and the weapons of mass destruction. An atomic bomb wiped out two entire cities and with the technological advances being made right now, it is hard to say where we will stop. We could wipe out countries and eventually we will destroy ourselves too [13].

Every day we hear warnings, ‘Save the Planet’, ‘Save Water & Electricity’, ‘Recycle’, etc. Our plant, our environment, is being heavily affected by global warming and the pollution levels have risen greatly in the past which are melting the polar caps. These are real warnings and our entire planet will be in trouble if we do not listen and make a change soon.

The billions of cars being driven around everyday does not help. Developers continue to produce cars that fit the wants of their clients: Fast, cheap, good looking; in this description only very few customers would include the words ‘environmentally friendly because the truth is that the larger the horsepower on a car the carbon monoxide travels out of the car into our atmosphere. Carbon Monoxide is extremely hazardous to health [15]. Carbon monoxide’s health effects include fatigue and chest pain at low concentrations. Exposure at higher concentrations leads to impaired vision, headaches, dizziness, confusion, and nausea. It is fatal at very high concentrations. Carbon monoxide is an important pollutant because of its widespread production from the use of fossil fuels and its toxic effects [16].

In conclusion, I believe that technology has greatly impacted our lives and will continue to do so in both a negative and positive matter as at last the negative cannot be avoided. Even medicines have side effects but the greater purpose is that it is used for healing so in the same way I think it’s worth it. Technology has proven to be very useful in the past and it can only progress up to a limit where a strict boundary should be implemented so as to stop scientists attempting to play the role of God.

Word Count (Excluding Bibliography): 1323

MLA BIBLIOGRAPHY:-

[1] – Collins, Samuel. "Technology Quotes." Said What. Said What Quotations, 2010. Web. 6 Apr 2010. <http://www.saidwhat.co.uk/quotes/favourite/samuel_collins/technology_is_neither_good_nor_bad_27944>.

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