Technology : The Negative Effects Of Smart Technology

Technology has always been a controversial subject between conservative people and innovators. Some people believe that it is a great tool to connect cultures and improve education and innovation in our society today, but others view it as a menace in our lives. “Growing Up Tethered” by Sherry Turkle and “George Orwell...Meet Mark Zuckerberg” by Lori Andrews both view technology as a dangerous tool. They believe in the many drawbacks of technology and the harm it can do to our lives with no explanation of the positive effects it has had on our society. “Our Future Selves” by Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen plays the role of a positive look at technology and its role in our lives today. It gives examples of how advancing technology helps us and improves so many peoples’s lives. We can use Schmidt and Cohen’s essay as a lens to view the other two texts and gain a different understanding of what they are writing about.

Through the years technology has been evolving increasingly, from flip phones to smartphones to watches used as phones, type writers to laptops to touch screen laptops and radios to basic televisions to big screens to flat screens and on to smart screens. Growing up, I would often spend time watching many hours of television. As a teenager, I also would begin spending more time on phone; talking, texting and video chatting. In today the world, the internet is highly influential, and is filled with a plethora of information about many things. For a long time, phones and the internet have become very problematic because of the lack of communication. Because technology may have a negative effect, it can lead to an overload from the media, to phones hindering writing skills and online communication can affect face to face communication.

Technology has impacted and influenced how people function and devote their time immensely. With the creation of smartphones, computers, and social networks, people have adopted them into their lives and use them daily, which creates a dependence on these devices. An immoderate dependence upon technology is a state that humanity has come to in today’s age that permits people to believe that they essentially cannot function without it. The fear of not having one’s cellphone or being in a position where one’s cellphone cannot be used, whether it be because of a dead battery or having no signal, is known as nomophobia. This irrational phobia can be described as a cell phone separation anxiety. Even though technology is revolutionary, technology is addictive and has adverse effects on people’s lives when used excessively.

“THE MOST DISTURBING Stories about the future may be less about what could happen, …and more about what should happen given the way things are right now. The haunting visions of a sad tomorrow in Alexander Weinstein's excellent first collection, Children of the New World, fit that category. Inspired by the author's anxiety over our increasingly virtual lives, these 13 stories artfully slam an unchecked obsession with technology and affirm the beauty of reality's texture,” wrote John Wilwol in a book review published in the New York Times.

There is a huge price we pay for assuming that technology is an inanimate vesicle thing. To not recognize the impact such devices have on our brains is a naive thing to do. Based on the research that Nicholas G. Carr presented in his book The Shallows the human brain is becoming more disorganized and less focused at the task at hand wanting mostly immediate gratification. There is a good and bad side to everything and tecnology is not to be taken lightly and can be abused just as easily as anything else and can abuse us in return.

The most noticeable effect of technology usage is a shortage of memory; not as in computer memory, but human memory. With Google constantly at people’s fingertips, it’s easy to look up information rather than memorize it. Carr cites in his article that tech users "cease to exercise their memory and become forgetful," instead of relying on the internet to quickly search for facts without having to commit them to memory (7). He also states that humans are losing the capacity to ‘deep read’ and cannot unearth meaning in articles the way that they used to in the time of the printing press and less evolved pieces of technology (3). In Gigi and Small’s article, they mention that the prefrontal cortex, or the area in the brain that handles short-term memory, could be altered by technology usage (4). However, Kristina Konidaris, a student who uses multiple technological devices daily, states that the technology does not have a profound impact on her memory. Instead, she states that her memory is more affected by her interest in the subject and her feelings rather than the technology used, although sometimes it may be easier to remember things she has handwritten rather than typed. Also included in Gigi and Small’s

Technology is ever becoming a more complex and integrated part of the daily lives of millions across the world. As technology advances, spreads, and changes, we need to be aware of the impact upon us as well as the rest of society at all times. It has grown to become a part of almost everything we do and has resulted in many positive as well as negative impacts. Some examples of positive impacts are increased efficiency with tasks such as building cars and access to information and some negative impacts include obesity and poor sleep habits. I agree with Clive Thompson to an extent; modernized technologies need to be understood and used wisely at all times and we can expand our intellect by working alongside them but, they don’t give the user an unlimited wealth of knowledge. I disagree with Nicholas Carr that using electronics is damaging humans’ cognitive abilities.

Technology has the power to change and alter the way we live our lives in many ways that most of us do not even realize it. As the years go by, modern technology has created countless opportunities with endless resources. These resources can be accessed by billions of people worldwide. However, some may wonder what changes technology has made, and have these changes improved or damaged our lives? Many authors and publishers have pondered this and publicly expressed their own perspectives over the issue of modern technology.

Technology changes the way we live our daily lives, the way we learn, and the way we use our faculties of attention -- and a growing body of research has suggested that it may have profound effects on our memories (particularly the short-term, or working, memory), altering and in some cases impairing its function (Gregoire).

Twenty first century technology has transformed society and the way individuals live. Many people are so concerned with their lives on the web that they fail to see that it is another way to be used as a control over people. The internet is being used as a way to separate and regulate what people can or cannot see. In “Fences of Enclosure, Windows of Possibility” Naomi Klein, explains how there are fences around public resources, and turning them into privatization. Making it hard for low income families to afford them. In “Democracy in Cyberspace: What Technology Can and Cannot Do for Us” Ian Bremmer, expresses while the internet has given power to people that are voiceless, it has also caused harm to society. They both acknowledge the

Technology has a negative effect on society because people are becoming antisocial, technology is creating bad habits, and online problems are emerging. “Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master” (Christian Lous Lange). Imagine being in a world with no cell phones or technology, the only way to communicate is through person. In society it is easy to get caught up in society online instead of our own lives. Technology is an easy way to communicate to others, and also helpful in everyday life. Although there are many amazing things technology does for society there are negatives sides to technology. Technology can be a huge distraction in life and can blind society from the most important things in life.

Modern technology has altered the ways people communicate and relate to each other. However, there are many negative effects that accompany the convenience of having everything right at your fingertips. Such negative effects impact mental and physical health, supporting the claim that technology is making modern society lazier and more alienated than in the past.

Many people tend to believe technology is more harmful than it is helpful. You have had to hear how the internet totally corrodes children 's social skills and contributes to illiteracy. It is no secret the internet can be a filthy place and innocent children can easily fall as prey to online predators. Although the internet can fall into all of these negative catagories, the fact still remains that there are also many scholar benefits of allowing your children access to the internet. As the internet can now be accessed from the tip of our fingers from mobile devices like smartphones, tablets and laptops, innovated tecnology can encourage creativity and intelligence in children. Students nowadays mostly learn through the internet via

Technology is the distribution of intelligence that deals with the arrangement and use of industrial means and their relationship with life, society, and the environment. Since the establishment of modern technology has been entangled with it. On average a smartphone user will check their phones 150 times a day-----. And that is just how the people cooperate with their Smartphone. Technology has a large negative effect on society.

Throughout all of its years, this world has become a birthplace to numerous technological breakthroughs. From the invention of the very first wheel to today’s quantum supercomputers, it’s obvious that this world has always been technology driven. These advances have aided in areas such as agriculture, communication, travel, and leisure. Leisure is defined as “time free from the demands of work or duty, when one can rest.” People go about various ways of filling their spare time, whether it be spending time with family or playing video games with friends. Handheld digital devices, like the Nintendo DS, have been around for years but the use of technology did not seem to present a problem until smartphones and tablets became popular in the early 2000’s. It is very likely that a teenager will come in contact with one, two, or maybe even three digital screens throughout the course of his or her day. Just like gamblers, users of this technology are on the search for instant gratification and immediate responses. Teens utilize computers to search for information and complete schoolwork, cell phones to communicate and engage in social media, and televisions to binge watch episodes of their favorite show on Netflix. While many argue that teens are not negatively impacted by the constant use of technology, detrimental effects of screen obsessiveness have become a concern in a teenager’s ability to focus as well as maintain social interactions.