The Negative Effects Of 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.

“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.

The effects of technology usage have long been a topic of debate, with the negative consequences often being brought up. Authors such as Robert Samuels, Alison Gopnik, Nicholas Carr, Gary Small and Vorgan Gigi have all addressed this topic in their own articles. In Samuels’ “Breaking Down Borders: How Technology Transforms the Private and Public Realms,” he discusses the creation of private bubbles in public spaces due to technology, and the consequent alienation of others. “Diagnosing the Digital Revolution” by Gopnik argues that the habits that tech users have today have always existed, while Carr’s “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” states that technology is actively changing the way humans think. “Meet Your iBrain” by Gigi and Small covers how technology affects brains and alters them. This paper will use the articles and an interview with a peer to analyze the perceived negative effects of using technology, particularly worse memory, shorter attention span, exacerbation of bad habits, and shifting emotions.

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.

Today, about 9 in 10 Americans use the Internet and 77% of Americans own a smartphone. Compare these statistics to the early 2000s when 5 in 10 Americans were online and in 2011, when only 35% of Americans owned a smartphone. Just a few decades ago, the technology we have today were merely ideas in science fiction novels or gadgets seen in a futuristic movie. There is no doubt that technology use has increased dramatically within this decade and these numbers may continue to rise as technology becomes more available to the public. Technology is slowly taking over our life and so many people have grown up surrounded by technology that a life without it is pretty much unimaginable. As technology becomes a bigger part of our daily lives, we

Technology has greatly impacted today’s society. Through technology, we can have the entire world at our finger tips; but is this new and evolving way of life negatively impacting society? Traditional family foundations are rotting away due to modern use of technology. Children, instead of playing outside, riding bikes, or using their imagination, are increasingly depending on technology; and in the future, technology will have damaging effects.

Albert Einstein once said “ I fear that technology will surpass our interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” Many people tend to think that technology is one of the best things to ever happen , but others believe that it is starting to have a negative effect on humanity. There are many different types of technology, but the two most commonly used are cell phones and computers. Our generation is being raised alongside technological evolution. Individuals use technology everyday for many different occasions, whether it be for work, school, or just to play video games. People don’t realize that they could outside enjoying their life and having fun, but instead they choose to stay inside on their computers or cellphones. Humans are being taught that technology is the reason behind everything that is happening in society today. Technology is supposed to make life easier for everyone. While it is true that technology contributes a lot of good to the world today, it has not came without a price. There are various negative effects that technology has caused in today’s generation. Technology is negatively affecting humankind because it is making people depressed, it is beginning to make individuals simple minded, people are becoming addicted to their technology, and because it is starting to make human beings do things that will put them in dangerous situations.

Many people use electronics everyday, but could the way we use technology have negative consequences on us? Before today, the effects of technology were much less apparent, but now, we are effected constantly by technology, and not in a good way. Because we use technology practically everyday, there will be negative effects caused by our everyday use, and it shows, such as lack of sleep, losing the ability to remember information as well, and becoming easily distracted.

“For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press three,” said Alice Kahn. Walking down the hall at school, most students are on their phones because they just got out of class and have not had it for forty minutes. Technology has overtaken most of the lives of teenagers. It can be used for the good of the people or tear people down. Technology often makes people more alone due to the fact that it has overtaken some people’s lives, people spend more time on their phones than being productive, source of cyberbullying, people care more about how they look online rather than in person, use it as a replacement for interactions, and some schools want to revamp learning to online.

Nowadays it is almost impossible for many people to do their works and spend their days without using any kind of technology. According to Savanah Guthrie, an American journalist “ a recent survey found that people check their phones up to hundred fifty times a day. We talk, text, listen to music, surf the web, take pictures, oh, and then we share it all on social media.” Many people think of technology in a negative way. They think technology makes people create their own world and it make them alone. Even though technology has some negative effects on society, it has also a positive impact on the way people communicate. Technology makes it possible for people to enrich their relationships and for disabled people to overcome their disabilities.

Society could not function the way it does without technology. The way humans rely on technology is incredible and the worst part is most of us don’t even know it. Younger generations worry more on what someone said about them on social media or how many likes they got on their photo rather than how they are doing in school and getting themselves out there in the world. Most elementary schools have stopped teaching cursive and correct spelling because we have these fancy things called computers with spellcheck. Technology needs to be limited to the amount of success a human can perceive on their own without the aid from artificial intelligence.

“Technology should improve you life, not become you life” - Billy Cox. These words from the legendary bassist have a powerful meaning which can relate to today's society. The fascination of new technology has stolen the eyes of the people worldwide. As more breakthroughs with technology occur, people will become more dependent on a resource that is not reliable. In other words, more people will start to depend on modern technology with all of their needs, which can lead to reducing of their creativity and own intelligence. The uprising of new technology may have its advantages, but on the other hand, it can cause cyberbullying, health issues, and a lack of social skills.

According to Libby Larsen, the great myth of our times is that technology is communication. Technology has become a big impact on today’s world. What would you do without your phone or computer for a day, week, or month? Is pretty much something to think about. Technology in today's world, is making it easier for us to become lazy. When I was younger, I didn’t have a smartphone. I had a regular old flip phone, where the only thing you can do is call, and answer. Technology has a negative impact on our society today with the following such as lack of social skills/social bonds, lack of focusing on what's important, and health problems.

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.

Technology; the rise or fall of our existing generations? Research has shown that technology impacts our thinking and mental processes. Unfortunately, the impacts do not appear to be in our favor. There are four categories that the negative impacts from technology usage, on the human mind, divide into. The categories are memory loss, alterations in our learning styles, adverse impacts on focus, and a diminishing mental importance of the physical world around you.