Argument Topic: Are we too dependent on
technology?
Article count: 5
First topic:
Computers
are convenient devices that many of us use daily. They have become an integral
part of our lives, allowing us to work from home, stay in contact with friends
and family, for entertainment purposes and to keep track of important issues
such as finances, stocks and shares, and international news. People can now
search for pretty much anything and everything: there is literally a whole
world of knowledge at our fingertips as soon as we log on to the World Wide
Web.
But have we become too
reliant? Everyone who is anyone remembers the sheer panic that occurred
throughout the world when the millennium approached - talks of super viruses,
and quite literally, the end of civilization as we knew it. There are now
computers made for 3 year olds - what happened to good old fashioned books? Do
people even go to the library anymore? Do teenagers even know what a Thesaurus
is? What happens to our literacy and grammatical skills if everything we write
is automatically spellchecked by our computer?
Relying on computer certainly
makes life easier - especially since the launch of Google and Wikipedia - one
stop shops for everything we could possibly want to know. But bear in mind -
computers are not foolproof. They crash. They get bugs. They can misinterpret
words and give you a different one than the one you wanted. Identity fraud is
not something you want either. Companies can spam your inbox. Hackers can steal
your money. There are trackers and viruses that can log every key you type
including passwords. Personal information can be leaked into the unknown realm
of the internet.
And people can become
obsessed. What about the people who primarily now socialize through ‘Face book’
- the, and I quote: “THE social network”…but have now stopped meeting friends
in real life? How about it has now become the ‘UN-social network’? What about
the couple who spend hours playing games, but never go out together nor talk
anymore? What about when we send more emails then we use the telephone?
However, this is all surely
down to the individual using the machine. There is no mistaking that the
internet and computers have benefited all of our society in may ways. The IT
industry has generated millions of jobs, with the vast majority of them very
well paid. Computers are now in cars, shops, used for medical purposes - almost
everything n modern society now relies on some form of computer in some way or
another.
So, in conclusion: have we
become too reliant on computers? My verdict is that they are there to enhance
our lives and make society better: if only we know when to stop emailing our
friends, and meet them for a coffee, write the occasional letter, and bear in
mind that libraries are there for a purpose!
Summary: Yes we have, however without
computers, our society will not be the same modern era that we know and love.
Computers seem to have improved our overall progression as humans but it can
also be fatal if we do not restrict ourselves with the usage of technology. The
internet does not also provide a fully safe environment as there are imposing
threats such as viruses, scammers, hackers, and identity frauds. By limiting
our usage on computers, we can take advantage of this great technology without
degrading ourselves to mindless drones.
Second
Topic:
With the recent merger announcement of the New York
Stock Exchange with Archipelago Exchange, pundits seem to agree that
this merger signals the beginning of the end of the last human-mediated trading
floor amongst large international exchanges. Predictions are that the NYSE will
become fully automated and computerized, ending the famous trading floor scene
of frantic brokers trading shares and deals with one another face-to-face. In
its place, computers will take the stage, becoming the new electronic middleman
between those who have shares to sell and those who want to buy.
What does any of this have to do with psychology and technology?
Because we, as a society, are embracing technology without fully
understanding the long-term ramifications of this decision. We’re constantly
seeking out short-term gains and improvements without really taking into
consideration the whole picture for future generations.
Computers are great, don’t get me wrong. They are wonderful
tools that help many simplify their life, get more information, and in the end,
hopefully make better, more informed decisions. These better informed decisions
hopefully lead to better lives (for people) or better revenues and increased
profits (for companies). But computers are not always the right choice, even
when they appear to provide a solution to an existing problem.
As a tool, a computer is a useful aid. It has helped architects
and engineers design and provide more reliable, interesting structures and
buildings. It allows us to split atoms, and categorize human genomes. It can
take guesswork out of business intelligence and product demand curves. It even
allows us to exchange money in the form of bits and bytes instead of actual
paper money changing hands.
But as a foundation for an important economic pillar in our
country, I suspect we’re pushing the envelope of sane thinking. There is no
such thing as an unhackable computer system. There is no such thing as a
24/7/365 computer system (despite what some companies claim). And until there
is, putting all of your eggs into a computerized future seems a bit
short-sighted to me.
Imagine a power outage. You know, the kind we had just a few
years ago on our supposedly modern power grid. The kind that isn’t supposed to
happen. The kind that brought an entire coast of our country grinding to a
halt. That’s fine, you say, those things are freak occurrences, and happen once
in awhile. Like the California
blackouts of a few years ago.
But as our thirst for power increases, and our infrastructure
fails to keep pace with it (and it really is nowhere near to keeping pace with
it — it is doubtful the U.S. has enough reserve electricity supplies without
tapping into our neighbors from the north during peak usage periods). Now,
instead of just going a few days without power, imagine an entire society
devoid of electricity. Could it happen? For a few days, sure. But for a few
weeks or even longer?? Who knows? The question in my mind isn’t if such a thing
is possible, but simply when.
Now, fifty years ago, architects and engineers could keep on
working, since they used their drafting boards and graph paper to create the
structures that hold us up. The NYSE could go on running using good
old-fashioned paper and pencil, just like they did then. Citizens could use
cash instead of charge or debit cards to pay for goods and services. The point
is, fifty years ago, I think society could easily survive and overcome a lapse
in electricity even for a long period of time. It was inconvenient, but the
basics of daily life (and the basics of our economy!) didn’t depend on
electricity being reliable and abundant.
All of that has changed. I suspect some new architects wouldn’t
know how to design a 50-story building on paper (without aid of a CAD program),
or a doctor who had to diagnose a patient without the reliance on ordering 10
or 15 lab tests. Or a politician who couldn’t rely on instant polling
techniques. Or citizens who had to resort to reading their news, instead of
watching in on TV. Or an important stock exchange not being able to function
because generators were never meant to be used full-time, indefinitely.
As a tool, I think computers are the cat’s meow. But as this
something more they’ve become, this integrated component that so many people
have become dependent upon, I am sometimes a little worried or concerned. We
believe we live in a largely stable world, with virtually endless supplies of
natural resources. And yet that belief isn’t grounded in reality — we live in a
limited-resource world where, one day (perhaps in some of our future), some of
those resources may very well run out or dwindle significantly. So it’s a
simple equation: limited future natural resources means limited supplies of
electricity, the stuff that powers our modern world.
Summary: Using technology as tools for
aid is a major advantage for human evolution. It is almost a necessity that we
use computers for difficult tasks such as keeping track of multi-billion
commercial upkeeps for a business. However, fact that humans can easily be
replaced by computers since they prove to be much more efficient in numerous
ways can prove to be quite startling. People tend to solve solutions with the
most efficient way possible without any preparation for the future. This could
inflict damage on our environment and our society itself such as humans losing
unredeemable jobs to machines which decreases job opportunities for our future
generations. A possible solution is to replace dangerous and otherwise
impossible jobs for humans to participate in with machines instead of replacing
mundane jobs such as grocery checkouts.
Third Topic:
Have we become too dependent on computers? Yes! We
have. The world today is experiencing global changes in the way people live,
and their lifestyles. In their everyday activities, they are faced with the
urge to meet many challenges in order to succeed in their endeavors. Therefore,
as these everyday tasks increase, there is a reason for man to look for
adequate means of making decisions, improving the previous experiences, and
even the urge to keep more information for future reference. Fortunately, man
does not have to perform all these duties on his/her own, but has successfully
searched for means of making his/her work easier, without involving manual or
brain work.
Computers automated processes that previously had to
be performed in a repetitive way. The first computer was built more than fifty
years ago, and did not penetrate the world until about twenty years ago
(Blundell 167). Before that, computers were very expensive, and an individual
could not imagine owning one. Not many organizations even had a chance to buy
one, since the machines were so expensive, and hard to find in the market.
Personal computers were introduced in early eighties,
and they have changed our lives in a significant manner. It is even hard to
imagine a world without computers, since the world has become so dependent on
them. For example, the agony a bank undergoes, when the main computer is not
functioning, is enormously great, the customers complain of inadequate
services, and even the employees’ panic in response. If such a thing happens to
a bank, and the chaos is that much, what would be things like if the Internet
broke down in the entire world? It is unimaginable. It is like the computer is
the main thing controlling the activities of this world.
It is amazing how computers can be used to manufacture
even more sophisticated computers with greater processing speed, and computing
power of handling up to 5 billion instructions in a second of time (Hall 153).
This is big. This is a clear indication that a human brain will be left behind
in the future, because nobody will bother to know, how the whole system works.
The scholars will no longer use paper books, but instead they will prefer the
use of e-books on the iPads (James 3). The books in the stores and major books
will no longer have meaning to school-going children, because access to laptops
and customized computers, which are reliable and easy to use, will be free.
Computers have brought a lot of benefits, but can also lead to a disaster. It
is possible to imagine somebody on the ground or control tower of an airport,
controlling a flight from the ground, and transporting people from one zone to
another by use of a computer. The idea can succeed, but in case of a failure in
the system, planes can crash.
It is inevitably certain that the future advancement
of technology is going to be increasingly complex.
In the world today, computers, most of the time, make
our work easier, and also gives us alternative ways of learning about things we
don’t know. They give us the power to do many things, while just work under the
comfort of their homes. Nowadays, one can opt to do shopping online, chat with
so many people online, using the social sites like Facebook, and keep in touch
with them, and even take an option of studying online. Computers make it easier
to organize and record information, and also entertain us with computer games.
In the area of medical science, computers have also found application in that
field (Berry
40). Space missions are also controlled by computers. In economics, the use of
computer is rather instrumental, because it can analyze and give a clear
indication how a variable can affect the entire stock market. It is used to
accurately predict sales, and carry out future analysis to determine the
viability of a proposed project together with its returns.
On the other hand, financial organizations, such as
banks, have employed the use of computers to accomplish transactions. The
modern communication system that includes the Internet is a hundred percent
based on computers. Computers make it possible for us to be in touch with each
other, and chat, as if we are close, though people can be located thousands of
miles away, in other country, or even continent (Reimer 62).
According
to Atkinson (n.p.), computers, on the other hand, are very helpful in society,
because they help us move forward faster with much higher pace than we would
move without them. The world without computers would have been the same like in
the 19th century, before the invention of
modern technologies.
The computer is becoming addictive to people. There
are people, living all over the world, that can’t just finish a day without
sitting in front of computer to either play games, or listen to music. Children
that once used to go to the playground spend most of the time indoors, either
playing computer games, or chatting with friends online. This is becoming more
of a social concern than it is considered. This affects most children
negatively, because children that are used to playing violent video games that
involve fighting, boxing, and shooting develop characteristics that emulate the
one they see in such computer games. Computers also expose children to
developing bad behavior at a young age. Most parents fail to put adequate
filters to deny their children to pornographic sites on the Internet. This
negatively affects the social development of children.
Most people today can not imagine the world without
computers, and especially the Internet. If such modern IT (information
technology) advantages disappear, this will return the world back into the
Colonial Times, where information was not available to the public and the only
knowledge that one was given was the one received at school. In the world
today, computers with different applications and the Internet have made absolutely
all the information available virtually to everyone in the world. They have
made everything easier, and often the decision to employ the use of a computer
leads to time saving. This time save is plowed back, and used to boost
interaction with family members, friends and many others without depending so
much on them. People, like the freelancers, can work comfortably from home, and
earn much more, than those who go to work on the daily routine.
In addition to that, people are using computers to pay
bills. In ancient times, people had to go physically to the payment bureau to
pay their bills. Internet and credit card transactions can be used to pay bills
instantly from the comfort of one’s seat at home, or office. Those looking for
jobs and the employers do not need to publish an advert on the dailies to look
for an employee with specific qualification nowadays, instead, at the click of
a mouse, they can advertise on the Internet on their websites, and the public
will get the advert instantly. If computers crash, all the things will have to
be averted to the old way of doing.
The computers have also controlled the world in so
many ways, that it is hard to imagine the world without them. Memorizing things
is a thing overtaken by time from many people. People are even not able to
remember their passport number, pin numbers, or even their phone number.
As a conclusion, there are so many aspects in our
lives that make dependency on computers inevitable. Therefore, we should not
disregard where we came from, but instead, always have a backup of everything
we do with computers in another form, so that if a computer crashes, at least,
we will be able to free ourselves from the chaos that accompanies it.
Summary: The computer’s addictive aura
can cause problems with our society as it can alter human behaviour so easily.
A good example would be an athletic person getting distracted by videogames
instead of enjoying outdoor activities. Addiction can be lethal to humans and
unfortunately the ease of use of modern technology accommodates this sinful
behaviour. If humans today were to revert back to older times when computers
didn’t exist, about 60% would possibly not be able to survive due to lack of
real life exposure. It would be very useful to always learn alternative ways of
doing tasks such as calculating daily expenses manually instead of using an
excel sheet to keep track of it. One should not be overly dependant on one item
but rather always have a back up.
Fourth Topic:
Since their invention, people far and wide have become increasingly dependent on computers. Computers have found
their way into just about every aspect of our lives, and in most cases, they
make things easier for us. They allow us to work from home, socialize with our
friends and family who live too far away to visit, and they provide an
ever-welcome stress relief when we come home from school or work and just want
to have some fun. But as we increasingly rely on computers to get through the
day, the question begs to be asked: have we become too dependent on computers?
Despite the many benefits of computers, there are also a number of
arguments against them, one of which is the negative effect some believe they
are having on children’s education. Illiteracy is a growing issue, and many say
that computers are to blame. In the past few years, many teachers have taken to
shuffling their students off to a computer to type out short, quick assignments
that could easily be written out by hand. While this isn’t much of an issue for
older students, it is an issue for the younger students who are just learning
to read and write. Regardless of how much we’re coming to rely on computers,
printing and handwriting are a necessary skill to have. But typing out
assignments has an affect on more than just the ability to print — it can also
negatively impact their spelling and grammar. While most programs now have
spell- and grammar-check, they are not infallible; they cannot differentiate
between homonyms and will often times suggest corrections that are not, in
fact, correct. Furthermore, information is often more easily and accurately
remembered when children have to spend a little time writing it out by hand,
rather than a few quick minutes typing away at a keyboard. Because of these
factors, computers in school should be reserved for older students, longer
assignments, or classes which specifically teach how to use a computer.
Another case against computers
crops up when a person’s interest in computers goes too far and becomes an
obsession. Computers make our lives easier and give us new ways to learn about
the things we’re interested in. They make it possible to do many things from
the comfort of our own home — we can shop online, keep in touch with our
friends online, even go to school online. They make it easier to record and
organize information and entertain us with a nearly endless variety of games.
However, it’s still important to maintain a life outside of the cyber world; a
life spent attached to a computer screen isn’t a real life. When a computer
becomes the central point of a person’s life, they undergo a change in
behaviour; they become lazy and develop anti-social tendencies, and, in some
severe cases, simply cannot function without a computer. It’s a common thing to
see with children who have been allowed to spend too much time on the computer,
watching TV, or playing video games: when it comes time to walk away, they
throw temper tantrums. But it’s not just a matter of behavioural changes — when
a person can’t tear themselves away from the screen long enough to take part in
any other activity, it can take a toll on their comfort and health. They may
experience weight gain, strained eyes, and headaches, among other unpleasant
side-effects. However, it can also be argued that this is not the fault of the
computer, but rather the fault of the person.
Perhaps the most convincing
argument, however, is the issue of safety. Aside from the issue of sharing
personal information such as full names and addresses, there is also the bigger
issue of stolen personal information. As our dependence on computers grows, so
does our comfort level with them, and we are more likely to save personal
information to our computer. While it would be nice to think that it is always
perfectly safe to do so, the fact is that there are people who have any number
of ways to gain access to your personal files, and therefore, any personal
information stored on your computer. Even if you don’t knowingly keep any
personal information on your computer, if you bank or shop online at all, it’s
possible for someone who knows what they’re doing to gain access to delicate
financial information.
But these are just examples of issues with household computers.
What of the rest of the world? Instead of writing a cheque, we whip out our
cards to pay for things when we’re short on cash. What happens when the
internet goes down and you’re stuck in the checkout line with $200 worth in
groceries, and no way to pay for them because you don’t have a blank cheque?
What happens when everyone is driving their fancy, futuristic cars that run on
a computer chip and something goes wrong? In a few hundred years, will anyone
know how to drive the cars that we know today? Why are we really relying so
much on computers? People put their computers through a lot of grief because
they don’t quite know what they’re doing when they decide to ‘fix’ a problem or
‘clean up’ their hard drive, but there are also errors in programming, bugs
that need to be fixed long after the product is out on the market, and there
are always people trying to ruin a perfectly good thing with viruses and the
like. Computers do indeed make our lives easier more often than not, but as we
come to rely more and more on them, are we also putting ourselves at greater
risk from the malicious desires of others?
Summary: People have considered computers to be a necessity
nowadays to almost everything related to daily lives. From waking up in the
morning with an alarm from your phone to doing your homework with a keyboard
and a mouse to pass a degree that would forever seal your profession in life.
But by allowing most work to be done through a computer, it also imposes a
threat to our literacy skills. In the future, students may not be able to hand
print anything at all from over reliance on technology. The growth of
popularity on mobiles and computers also exponentially increases our
comfortably with it giving us the illusion of safety. People will always take
advantage of other people who are blind to the danger. This can be avoided by
becoming more aware of how we use devices and to take extra precautions when
dealing with personal details on the cyber web.
Fifth Topic:
Today, the world is referred to as being
in the "age of technology." From high-tech cars to 3-D printers, new
inventions are created every day. Today's generation often hears the
stereotypical statement from their elders that, "We didn't have that back
in my day." It is hard to imagine that in 20 years, the technology we have
today will probably be entirely obsolete.
Twenty years ago, the world had no
Facebook, no Google and no YouTube. There were no electric cars, no smartphones
and no wireless Internet. Today, these things are such a part of our lives that
we fail to realize that they have not always been here. If these things did not
exist in the past, that means that at one point, new technology will replace
what we use now.
Personally, I have a hard time picturing a
world where I could not hop onto my laptop to search for homework help. Typing
essays from the comfort of your own home was not a common practice for the
average student 20 years ago, but it certainly is now. Rarely is there a time I
find myself without my iPhone attached at my hip, afraid I'm going to miss
something.
This raises the question, are we a society
too centered on technology? I often wonder this, but then I remember all the
good that technology has done. Thanks to advancements in technology, we are
able to save lives with organ transplants and updated safety measures in
vehicles. Every day, new research is conducted to invent things that would
advance society. This research, let alone the inventions themselves, would not
be possible without technology.
If technology were not constantly
evolving, we would never have things like refrigerators or even electricity.
Without technology, we would be an extremely primitive society. Although
technology has the connotation of electronics, many things can fall under this
category. Hundreds of years ago, when explorers settled in new places, the soil
was not always fertile. However, they still managed to survive and eventually
flourish with plenty of food. This was due to agricultural advancements, which
fall under technology. Actually, for explorers to even get to new locations,
they had to use technology such as maps and compasses.
Without technology, we would not be living
the lives we do. However, this is not to say I do not believe as a society we
are too dependent on technology. Technology has gotten us where we are today,
which means it cannot be an entirely bad thing, but do we rely upon it too
much? We cannot even go to a friend's house without using a GPS to give us
directions. How could we survive without air conditioning, microwaves and
washing machines? While our ancestors did, it seems as though we could not.
I admit to being far too attached to my
technology, having the tendency to reach towards my phone or computer every
five minutes. I don't really know what I would do if I wasn't constantly in
touch with the world. I use my phone to schedule practices, remind myself of my
to-do list, and wake myself up in the morning. If I didn't have my phone, I
would of course find a way to do things traditionally, but I would be
uncomfortable without it.
This is a perfect representation of how our
society functions. We could do without technology, but because of our reliance
on it, it would be extremely difficult to adjust to. With this being said,
nothing can stop our society from advancing.
Someone could completely close themselves
off from the modern world, but the world around them would keep advancing.
Summary:
Being attached to
technology really relies on the choice of the individual. Most people tend to
join the trend but there are still quite a bit of people who choose not to join
the modern evolution (e.g. monks and farmers). Technology’s advancement is
inevitable and it’s a necessity for humans to constantly survive but humans can
minimize their dependency on technology without having to sacrifice their
health. We do not always have to grab our phones or jump on the computer to
start socializing or check the time. People should also not rely on the
government from telling them the difference of right and wrong as people should
be self aware of their own decisions.
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