Technology has rapidly increased over the past century and has brought great impact to society. It has changed the operations in various sections of the economic, physical and social aspects of life such as industry, transport, and communication. For instance, communication has been made easier through smartphones while industrial activities have been lessened through the use of industrial machinery. However, this has led to the alarming of society to the eroding effect on morals and values that it has on our young people in society. Many debates have been held on the fact that technology is becoming an enemy in society. It is important for us to understand the effects of technology and realize where we as individuals have failed and be able to pick the areas of technology that shall be able to bring good out of humanity. Some of the detrimental effects of technology have been discussed, and they shall enable us to tackle them and make the best out of it.
First, Technology has led to an increased rate of accidents in society. Due to the introduction of smartphones, many young people handle their gadgets while driving. Most of the youths text and make video calls which distract their attention from driving leading to accidents. Awareness should be created on the dangers of using gadgets while driving and severe penalties executed by individuals violating driving ethics. Besides, many live lives have been lost over the past decade due to technological advancements in weapons. The second amendment has allowed citizens of the United States the right to bear arms since the late 1700s. Guns have become a hugely controversial issue throughout America with these mass shooting in schools, concerts and the streets of our beloved country. (Carr, 2012) Restrictions need to be made on the possession of weapons by ordinary citizens. Otherwise, the allowance of the ownership of deadly weapons could lead to many deaths.
Secondly, technology has eliminated human interaction. Many people, especially the youth, have been addicted to social media and tend to interact more with unseen individuals online rather than knowing people on a personal level. Even social gatherings today make less meaning since most people are always glued to screens rather than interacting with the people around them. Family gatherings are neglected, and this has made people’s love for each other wax cold. Many families and relationships have broken due to this smartphone technology. Unless society becomes sober and realizes the importance of relating with fellow humans around them, the world will soon come to a point in which people know each other online and barely know nothing about their real lives (Carr, 2012). Proper social interaction can be enhanced by changing the mindset of our young people and emphasizing the importance of personal communications.
Technology has also led to lack of independent thinking, invention, and innovation in the current world. For instance, the introduction of Google has made many students to do their school work not from what they know and understand but from what the search on the internet. Many youths are not able to make independent decisions regarding vital aspects of their lives since their minds are not trained to do so(Kelly, 2016). They always have to go to the internet and search for the general opinion of the world before making even the simple day to day decisions which only require common sense. Most of them are always misled since the current society has reached a point where there is a thin line between right and wrong and can make wrong to appear right. Our youth need proper training and upbringing to be able to make wise and independent decisions. Creativity should be fostered, and students thought to learn to get an in-depth and practical knowledge of what they study.
Lastly, technology has rendered human labor and effort almost useless. Machines have been invented that perform most of the work in industries presenting a large population jobless due to retrenchment. Today, modern technology performs virtually every single task that used to be done by human beings a century ago. Banks no longer need many cashiers since most bank transactions are being done online. (Kelly, 2016) Industries need less physical and mental labour since machines have been invented to do the work. As much as technology has led to the creation of jobs in other new fields, still, only very few individuals with the learned skills are required. The world needs to value human labor. Training needs to be done on the use of these newly introduced pieces of machinery so that people may have somewhere to work.
It is true that technology is inhumane. The argument above clearly indicates that there are serious adverse effects of technology on human life that need to be addressed. Society should create awareness of these effects to create a better system that will enable us to get the best out of technology rather than the adverse impact that it brings to humanity.
Works Cited
Carr Nicholas. Is Google Making Us Stupid?Place of publication not identified: Book On Demand Ltd, 2012. Print.
Kevin Kelly. Better than Human: why robots will- and must take our jobs 2016. Print.
