Essay about The Harmful Effects of Technology

Everyday we hear about the astounding technological advances discovered year after year. Thirty years ago, who would have thought that we would soon be able to communicate with a person half way around the world through a computer? The possibilities of technology are endless and beyond belief, but are these possibilities always beneficial in society, or are they causing more harm then help? Authors Pete Hamill, Grant Fjermedal and Roger Rosenblat take a look at certain forms of technology and the beneficial and detrimental aspects that have and will come from its advances.

Impact of Technology On Society Sesan Akerewusi University of Windsor Abstract Technology surrounds us and has dramatically affected the way we live in this present society. From entertainment devices such as the television, communication devices such as the iPhone, life-saving devices such as defibrillators and educational devices such as Microsoft and Apple computers, technology appears to have numerous benefits in certain fields of human life. Today, technology and human lifestyle are like a set that cannot be separated. According to research conducted by technology enthusiast Lulu Chang, the average human spends an alarming 4.7 hours a day on his/her phone, and 8.4 hours a day on media devices in general (Chang, 2015). We live in an

These days, technology seems to be almost everywhere we go. With advancements to cell phones, computers, video games, cars, and our iPods, our lives have become much easier than ever before. Technology is made because the society always wants to find more efficient methods of doing certain tasks. Without technology, mankind would not have discovered things that the majority of us now know, such as the world, animals, science, and the like. However, the society doesn’t gain much benefit, besides their school and work duties. Technology has become a necessity for us as a whole, although it definitely changes our mental habits. Due to advancements in technology, the United States is becoming more dependent on it, which is causing the

Every day, millions of Americans view the front covers of magazines like Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and more. They see them while at grocery stores, on the television, and even in the waiting room at a doctor's office. The media offer advertisements with models that are seemingly slim with perfect skin, hair, and teeth. American propaganda leaves most young, adolescent girls between the ages of 5-18 to consider that the complexity of beauty is strict to be thin and perfect, though it is targeted to young adolescents, it does aim towards older female and male age ranges as well. An article states, “While the media attempt to target every person, the level of exposure is dictated by gender, and the majority of harmful messages is focused more toward women. For instance, in media such as magazines where a person relies on an image to relate a feeling, girls are often made to look inferior” (Chapman). When it comes to the media, specifically in the American culture, the popularity has massively increased over the years, turning to new weekly issues, becoming common to the society and civilization. This causes issues associated with eating disorders, depression and suicide, and self-esteem/confidence young girls.

Mom turns on the television and sets the table, dad comes home from work, checks his personal digital assistant for an email he’s been waiting on, while his daughter sits at the table finishing up a “thumb lashing” on her cell phone that she is giving to her “BFF” because she just failed her history test. This scenario has become the norm in homes across America today. It’s the digital age, technology is booming at such a rapid pace we cannot even wear out our devices before the newer up-to-date models arrive. Technology has negative effects on society, because it is causing our critical thinking and social interaction skills to decline, it is disrupting the American family unit, and it has caused us to become a distracted society that is

In today's society there is no escape from technology. We are completely submerged in our iPhone, ipads, computers, and gaming systems. These gadgets give us the opportunity to be connected to each other and the rest of the world at all times. But, this is not a glorious step in history. Technology blinds us from the real world. As John Tudor said, “Technology makes it possible for people to gain control over everything, except technology.” We may run our lives with the help of our iPhones and computers, but do these forms of technology in turn control us? At first glance these new advances are greater steps to making our lives easier. But, when examined closely a large portion of technology is the cause of many problems in our society.

There has been a growing trend of hypersexualization of women over the span of all forms of media. The women within these images are made to look perfectly flawless. They are extremely thin without a trace of fat or cellulite to be found. The people who consume this media are exposed to the idea that the women they are observing are models for true physical beauty. These standards are accompanied by an alternate message from the media that pushes the idea that women’s value comes from their beauty. While some women may understand that the messages about the ideal woman are unrealistic and false, it is found that adolescent girls are vulnerable to the media’s strategies due to their lack of media literacy as well as the search for their own identity during this developmental stage in their lives. The exposure to these standards of beauty can have several negative effects on the girls such as lower self-esteem, higher body dissatisfaction, depression, and eating disorders. SPARK and 4 Every Girl are two of a growing number of campaigns that are working to fight against the sexualized images of women in the media and the negative effects it can have on the viewers.

We see ‘ideal selfs’ on the television, so when we log into Facebook, or Twitter, we too create ‘ideal selfs’. If we look at media creating negative self-esteem, the main demographic it effects is women aged about 14-18. Girl Guiding, an organization created for promoting girl’s voices and opinions to be heard conducted a survey, called the Girl’s Attitude Survey. This survey included girls from 11- 21. In 2009, 36% of girls from 11-16 were unhappy with their looks. 1 in 6 girls said they were worried they would develop an eating disorder. They asked girls from 10-21 what aspect they would like to change about themselves. 33% of girls 16-21 wanted to be thinner, compared to 17% of girls 11-13. 66% of girls 16-21 have watched what they were eating, or cut down on their diet. In 2013, 87% of girls from 11-21 thought they were judged more on their appearance and looks than their ability. 80% of the same demographic believe that the media places too much discussion on the bodies and weight of girls and 71% of girls say they would like to lose weight. 31% of girls from 16-21 considered cosmetic surgery, and 47% of girls from 11-16 are unhappy about their looks. You can see that through the years, girls have become more body conscious, and mostly in a negative way.

In today’s world, as technology is advancing around us, some of the major effects that can be seen are medical technology advances, ease of communication with the growing technology, and the negative effect on our body.

Over the years a debate over who is to blame over the decline in how girls perceive themselves has arisen. With Photoshop being the societal norm concerning the media, it has become difficult for many to understand where the line between real and near impossible standards lies. Youths see an image edited to “perfection” and strive to reach the standards that they imagine due to the images displayed on magazines, television and social media. From Disney to magazines like Vogue the mass media bombards audiences with fake beauty that they, as normal people, will never be able to achieve. The mass media is responsible for causing the rise in the number of people with a poor body image, eating disorders, and cosmetic surgeries.

Technology has more negative effects on today’s society than positive. Due to technology in the past few decades Canine Shock Collars have been increasingly popular. Students in school pay more attention to texting than they do their classes. Violent addictive video games have made their way into American homes. Parents encourage their children to not text as much, but them to face the problem of constant communication. The Internet gives the students easier ways to cheat in school, and reinforces laziness. Internet Porn gives every bored male a chance to look at the seediest film in the comfort of his own home. Technology has taken the innocence and mystery away from the American family.

In the last twenty years the computer has changed the way we work, live, and communicate. This incredible form of technology is a major part in our society today. Social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace have made communicating with our peers more convenient than ever before. Websites like YouTube have made people overnight celebrities and the Internet as a whole has made our society run more efficiently. Overall I believe that the digital revolution brought upon by computers have made our society a better place.

The unrealistic standards of beauty is hurting this generation of what the media and society thinks a girl has to look like, for many years the media has been trying to construct the ideal image of what a “perfect woman” should look like. They believe there only beautiful if they have long legs, great hair, and curves in the right places (HuffingtonPost2017). Which is not the influence that we want to carry down to future generations of girls who feel like they must live up to the expectations of girls who have the “perfect body”. With media apps being popular in the 21st century, there was a survey done on some of the top media apps, their study #statusofmind surveyed almost 1,500 young people aged 14 to 24 on how certain media apps impact health ( CableNewsNetwork 2017). Body images statistics say 80% of woman say images,

Technology is continuously developing and has begun creating shortcuts for the American society. As a society we need to find a balance between our technological use and our everyday life. In my opinion, society has become too dependent on technology. The more advanced technology becomes, the more it seems to be gaining control over our lives. Even though technology is offering society many beneficial qualities; it also is causing many negative effects to occur. Technology is affecting society socially, mentally, and physically.

Do personal technologies like phones, iPods, and computers connect or disconnect us? The opinions vary from person to person and generation to generation. Two opinions that we’ll look at specifically are from Andrew Sullivan, a blogger and columnist for the Sunday Times of London, and Anna Akbari, a professor at New York University. When looked at briefly, Sullivan and Akbari’s views seem to be like the opposite sides of the same coin. Sullivan argues from a more personal standpoint that personal technology shuts us out from the world. Akbari, on the other hand, sees technology and our personal devices as a way to open the world up to us and provides facts and results from professional studies that