How Technology Changed my Life

The use of technology in life is unmeasurable, in today's day and age the access to technology has provided an open door of endless opportunities. Technology may be the best tool to a constant changing world that thrives for survival. There are many positive aspects on how technology has positively helped society. Though technology can be both a blessing and a curse, it is undeniable that it has given us the option to be more productive and capable, the ability to access complex information quickly and effectively, and platform to keep an interconnected world through means of global communication.

In the past 60 years, technology has helped further innovation and produce so much more than anyone could have ever imagined. By harnessing technology, people have had the advantage to be more productive and capable to generate ideas that later lead to improvement of industry and new jobs. Jamais Cascio wrote in an article to The Atlantic, “Pandemics. Global warming. Food shortages. No more fossil fuels. What are humans to do? The same thing the species have done before: evolve to meet the challenge. But this time we don’t have to rely on natural evolution to make us smart enough to survive. .” (Para 4). There have been inventions that are necessary in order to prevent any catastrophic ruin. For example, scientist are working together and using the most advanced modern technologies as tools to warn people about the outset of tsunamis, tornados, hurricanes and volcano eruptions so that families may make arrangements to evacuate or protect themselves. In a world without opportunity to know in advance, disease and illness would be incurable and unmeasurable. According to the Pew Research Center of Science and Society, “Some 67% of Americans say science has had a most positive effect on society; the most common reasons cited are related to medicine and health (59% of this group), including improvements in medical research, quality and longevity of life, and treatment of disease.” (Para 4). Important infection and diseases that were untreatable in the past are now curable and preventable thanks to innovation. Utilizing transformative discoveries and diagnostics increase knowledge and understanding therefore this is able to boost intelligence. In the previous paraphrase Cascio mention food shortage. Genetically modified plants, fertilizers, equipment, irrigation, are all ways that technological advancements have allowed for the production of food to feed a growing population. Jobs are being created by the advancements in every field. Technology sparks the brain to work to its full potential by figuring out new ways to encourage innovation and creativity. According to Matthew Lynch, “Technology has enabled engineering students more opportunities than ever before by creating opportunities to build virtual models of their devices, programs, robots, and other gadgets.” (Para 2) Technology has changed the outlook in education. The current generations have the ability to learn while watching videos, playing educational games, or storing and recording on class lectures. Today, students are combining technology with inspiration, to create a wealth of resources and information available globally. In Everything Bad Is Good for You, the author Steven Johnson argues that “Even pulp-television shows and video games have become extraordinarily dense with detail, filled with subtle references to broader subjects, and more open to interactive engagement.” He says that scientists describe these new skills as our “fluid intelligence”—the ability to find meaning in confusion and to solve new problems, independent of acquired knowledge. Fluid intelligence doesn’t look much like the capacity to memorize and recite facts, the skills that people have traditionally associated with brain power. (Page 47) Todays generation has the ability to solve new problems and situations in different ways instead of using the learned knowledge and experiences. It is a new way of logic in various types of situations.

Many people would say technology has mostly played a negative effect on society. The leading reason for this perspective is the feeling that technology has made it harder for the human mind to retain large amounts of information and are more dependable on the storage from a phone. Anxieties were given by Nicholas Carr in article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” (July/August 2008 Atlantic). Carr argued that “Internet medium is effectively rewiring our brains, making it harder for us to engage in deep, relaxed contemplation.” (Para 6) It is no secret that when using the web, people are more interested in the quick gathering access of information instead of deeply understanding the information they gather. It may be the reason information is no longer retained in the mind in which makes many dependable in the phone. If the Internet is used excessively without much interaction, it can play negative effects on anyones cognitive and interpersonal skills. It is clear that the two sides of this issue contrast but these problems can be easily solved. First, limiting the use of the internet to 2-3 hours a day would be highly recommended to keep the mind relaxed.. Second, blocking pop-up adds would get rid of the distractions that may find it difficult to focus. Lastly, it would be beneficial to take notes in paper so that it may be easier to retain information in the brain. Thinking much harder about what to choose to do is a matter of individuality and positivity.

Technology enables communication with people all around the world through instant text messaging and video messaging. This benefits the environment because it leads to awareness about political, environmental, and global issues. Dave Parrack wrote in his article The Positive Impact of Social Networking Sites on Society, “As with most things in life, there are positive and negative sides to social networking, both of which we have now explored. My ultimate belief is that when used in moderation, with checks and balances on how younger people in particular are using them, social networking sites are neither good or evil. They’re somewhere in between. By sharing interactions in social media, society is able to emphasize and communicate in a speedy and efficient manner about any issues going around globally. With the help of one another, society is able to protect one another and speak out about injustices and current issues going around. Back in the day, people only knew about what was going on in their town. Computer screens are simply just a tool for information and expression.

Though modern technology can be both a blessing and a curse, it is undeniable that it has given us the option to be more productive and capable, the ability to access complex information quickly and effectively, and platform to keep an interconnected world through means of global communication. Studies have found that students who have easy access to information do better in life. Technology opens exciting doors and possibilities to many, offers an increased amount of knowledge and understanding, improves industry with new jobs, and maintains ongoing communication and exchange of ideas. It is clear that there will always be opposition to everything, let's make the best out

Works Cited:

Cascio, Jamais. “Get Smarter” Technology, July 2009, pp. 1–8., www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/07/get-smarter/307548/.

Lynch, Matthew. “How Technology Can Expand Creativity and Innovation in Education.” 14 Aug. 2018, www.theedadvocate.org/how-technology-can-expand-creativity-and-innovation-in-education/.

Parrack, Dave. “The Positive Impact of Social Networking Sites on Society.” 28 June, 2017, https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/positive-impact-social-networking-sites-society

Johnson, Steven. “Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter.” Riverhead Books, 2006.  

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