Show How Developments In New Media Technology Have Influenced Lifestyles.
Show how developments in new media technology have influenced lifestyles.
Technology is seen by many as a panacea, it is seen as a cure for all ills, a solution. In some cases, this may be so. Technology has brought many benefits to our lives but also many faults and problems. For example, Steven Hawking, someone who's life was quite normal, until about 30, then due to illness, he would of become what we call a "human vegetable" if it weren't for modern technology, allowing him to express his views and emotions, basically live through a computer. Steven relies solely on the computer to express his opinions and communicate with the rest of the world.
Many parents are worried that children may be loosing out on essential relationship building skills, this is partially due to the increase of technology in our day-to-day lives. For example, within the family, in the old days around a century ago, evenings would be spent, with the whole family in one room, maybe around a piano, or table, talking and singing together, basically building up the family bond by sharing special time. Nowadays, evenings will be spent in separate rooms. For example son maybe in room playing on the new playstation2 he received for his birthday, sister maybe in her room watching a video, while mum is in the lounge watching the latest episode of Eastenders and dad is in the dining room surfing the net. Technology has fragmented families and split family evenings. As for friends, mobile phones are a key communication aid between youngsters; this has only come in over the past year, to eighteen months or so. Now, you will be hard pushed to find a child over the age of eight without one, sometimes younger, mobile phones have become a fashion accessory. There are a total of 45 million mobile phones in circulation to date.
The children of today, are loosing real communication, text messages are extremely popular, and recent reports show that children feel more confident when sending messages via sms, rather than face to face, or over the telephone, this could become a dependency in relationships in later life, loosing the everyday conversations. Another down side to text messaging is the language used to communicate between friends, it is ideal for them to fit in as much txt into one message, to save money, therefore shortening the words, using shorthand and slang, by some, this is seen as spoiling the written ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
The children of today, are loosing real communication, text messages are extremely popular, and recent reports show that children feel more confident when sending messages via sms, rather than face to face, or over the telephone, this could become a dependency in relationships in later life, loosing the everyday conversations. Another down side to text messaging is the language used to communicate between friends, it is ideal for them to fit in as much txt into one message, to save money, therefore shortening the words, using shorthand and slang, by some, this is seen as spoiling the written English among youngsters of today.
The Internet itself can be very educational and can benefit children and students for research methods, for information on homework and improving presentation of work etc, but it can also be very expensive luxury. However, companies are increasingly running cheaper and cheaper deals, in competition with each other. BT are the sole owners of the phone lines, they just sell them on to other companies, who add on their own profit margins to break even. But now, these profit margins are falling. This is essential for them, to remain in good competition with other companies and keep their customers keen.
Whenever a new form of technology comes along, the public are immediately sceptical; everything seems to be a bad influence at first. For example when televisions first arrived, people feared going blind from watching too much telly and so took regular breaks to stop and stare at the ceiling! Now mobile phones are highly in circulation, people fear that they will fry our brains. Another example are computers all day, can be bad for your health and give you sight and back problems, however, these have been proven effects to pro-longed time spent at a computer screen.
Vaccinations are increasing life expectancy, which seems a good thing, but is one of the causes of over population in the world that we live today. Excessive use of TV's and computers can be the cause of lack of exercise resulting in obesity and illnesses such as deep vain thrombosis, which is prominently in the news of late.
The truth is, with the way technology is heading, we need to be asking ourselves, how long will we physically need our bodies for? We need to adapt the capabilities of technology, rather than let it take over our life. We have become dependant upon technology, a fine example of this is a cut in electricity can cause chaos for a company, it wont run.
Already researchers for companies such as Microsoft, are looking at finding ways to converging everything into one mobile handset to control everything, known as "3G", the remote control for life. For example; TV; toaster; mobile phone; watch; calculator; games console; internet; telephone etc, the list is endless. The question to be asked, is who actually wants, or needs them? It wont be long before we can do everything from the comfort of our armchair. To an extent, this is already possible, we have internet banking, internet shopping, infact, it would be possible to live life in your home and never have reason to leave nowadays. Many people are working from home and using the Internet to send documents and important files etc. Even students may become dependant upon the Internet. A college in Liverpool had a lecturer from the USA send his lecture via the Internet, which can save greatly on flight costs. Universities and colleges are can afford to do this more often now, whereas, in the past, it would not only have cost the university to hire the lecturer, but to pay for his travel and accommodation expenses, the internet solves these problems. It is quite probable that the lecturer from home, to the students at their homes, will conduct general lectures! In effect the student needn't get out of bed!
Another type of being able to see people over the Internet or over the phone, on a visual display, would be that people would probably find themselves getting showered and putting make-up on, and brushing hair, before making a phone call. This is going to extremes, people will no longer have a life to themselves, and this brings in the big brother theory.
Already we are being watched, like the contestants in the big brother house, everywhere we go, and cameras are watching us.
We have become dependant upon technology, it is ubiquitous, and everyone's lives have become affected by it. Nowadays, little of the money earned by the public is actually seen, pay-cheques are paid into accounts monthly, then to pay for shopping, either food, clothes, household etc, generally, credit cards are used, or direct debit cards, or paid by cheque. Very little is paid for by cash now.
There is an innate yearning to communicate with each other, there's a well-known BT saying; "its good to talk" this has encouraged people to pick up the phone and call others. However, picking up the phone to talk, is no replacement for going to see granny for example.
The Internet gives people a voice, allowing the public to create websites and opinion polls etc. However the present Internet is becoming crammed, there is news of an "Internet II" on the horizon!
Chat rooms on the Internet are beginning to replace pubs and communal meeting places, it is filling a void. People feel that they can be themselves and be accepted regardless of appearances in a chat room. However like all things, chat rooms have their bad sides, when abused, for example the recent incidences of young people, specifically being targeted by older men, arranging meetings and not realising who exactly they were going to meet, until it is too late. Awareness of this is on the increase and advise is given not to meet people who you have met on the net, and if you do, do not go alone. This will not illuminate the root of the problem, being that the Internet is a target for perverts and paedophiles.
Due to the increase of travel technology, the people of today lack roots, years back, one family would live in the same road or town, all their lives, but now people are moving out and away as soon as possible to find a better place, with more opportunities, this was made possible by technology! This emphasises the fact that families are being fragmented, the distance makes it awkward for families to get back to see each other often, this forms a gap in what may in the past of been a close family.
We idealise how things were in the past, everything is seen as being better then; in the beginning, consequences of the progression in technology weren't given a thought, and people got carried away in the excitement. Now we are feeling the consequences, people are feeling concerned, yet it is too late, we cannot un-invent things. Evolution is escalating at a rapid rate, but up until now we have been passive victims, now we are active in evolution itself. It can only be concluded that technology is neutral. Technology is neither good, or bad, its how we use it that decides.
