- Published: December 21, 2021
- Updated: December 21, 2021
- University / College: University of British Columbia
- Language: English
- Downloads: 12
Essay : Technology creates more problems than it solves and may threaten or damage the quality of life Technology is the use of machines to solve problems which in most cases couldn’t be solved manually. The machines were used to make our lives easier and on most occasions it has succeeded. Development of ‘ wheel’, ‘ telephone’, ‘ first-generation computer’ and ‘ atom-bomb’ had been the most useful developments for the mankind over the last few centuries. The last century experienced humongous developments in various technological fronts varying from health-care to nuclear-power. Although most of these developments have been very useful for us, but developments in some fields have created a sense of insecurity and an environment or unrest at the global level.
The first misuse of technology had been in the field of nuclear weapons and in WoMD : Weapons of mass destruction. Nuclear powers in the hands of notorious countries like Iran and Pakistan have been an issue of global concern for the past decade. The superpowers of the world are now conscious about the existence of power with the third world nations. According to the Pentagon, China has the most active land-based ballistic and cruise missile system in the world. The missiles are placed on frontiers of Taiwan and India. These missiles pose a threat not only to the two countries but to the whole world. These developments have transformed the world to an arsenal possessed by a nation preparing for the World-war. Setting apart the military developments and taking a look at the advancements in the field of information technology.
Julian Assagne’s Wikileaks is also a creation of technology. An archive of the tapes and documents of various private and secret affairs of government is now open to public domain. The views of American minister Hillary Clinton about many nations of the world are unacceptable and has forced them beg pardon from them. It poses a threat to world diplomacy and may result in souring relations among nations. Apart from the macro aspects, technology has also led to damage to the quality of life at the macro-level. Lethargy has crept into the lives of people as they have become addicted to the comforts of technology. Social-networking has long replaced outdoor sports and computer games have now become the only indoor game at disposal. It’s not just the humans who are affected but environment also. We are aware of the ill-effects of global warming caused due to the industrial developments. It has been well said the modern technology owes ecology an apology. Advantages are many but the disadvantages are grave. If world is to be a better place than technology needs to be in better hands.
I think saying that technology creates more problems than it solves is an extremely broad overgeneralization. It really depends what specifically you are talking about, but to be as general as possible, since new technologies are created for the purpose of solving problems, and most problems associated with any particular technology are due to the people using them and not the tech itself (ie. atomic bomb), I’d that the aforementioned generalization is inaccurate
1. It depends how you interpret what you’re saying. Technology allows overpopulation, obesity, the spreading of disease to occur at a rapid rate, ridiculous amounts of casualties during war, etcetera. But individual technologies are mostly attempts at fixing or changing individual problems. Even things as basic as the wheel were a technology that fixed many problems, transportation of a lot more food and people wihtout having to exert extra force to drag the entire weight of large amounts of neccessities, the ability to also transport materils, such as wood to build boats and stone to craft more wheels. Eventually however, things like wheels led up to cars and aircraft, which allow a lot of laziness in people, as well as allowing diseases to spread much faster. Communication aand transportation is much easier though with aircraft and motor vehicles. But the individual problems fixed add up where as the results are usually the asme for many different kinds of technology.
The other way I can think of where you are stating that technology causes more problems is by the overall balance of the effects. Less problems are caused by technology than problems fixed, but many of the problems created are the same or can be categorized. Laziness, obesity, war, spread of disease, immature exposure to mature concepts, financial dependancy, increased amounts of rape, easier stalking, overpoulation; things like that. These can outweigh the benefits of what technology has provided, but only from different perspectives. it depnds on whether you support limiting the population or are very happy to allow people to have children and be able to survive multiple births, it depends on whether you think being able to travel to many places with ease outweighs the fact that out atmosphere is being filled with more particles and greenhouse gases every day, it depends on whether you think have netowroks of computers is good as it allows very quick communication and access to millions of resources or if you think that’s outwighed by the amount of pornography young children are exposed to and the fact that IP addresses can be recorded and information possibly presented to a person who means harm through way of spyware. I’m sure if we were to analyze hundreds or thosuands of different technologies and inventions the benefits could be measured with the damages and possibly catalogued to come to a better idea of how helpful and dangerous technology is at this point.
Technology has, no doubt, made many things easier in life. There is one thing that people don’t consider though. Technology has probably caused more problems than it actually solved. There are many aspects of our lives that were damaged greatly because of the use of technology. We have completely changed how we communicate with each other. Nothing is personal anymore. We don’t send letters through snail mail anymore because it’s easier to send it online. We don’t call each other anymore because we can text. You don’t even have to go to a business to put in an application anymore. All you have to do, in most cases, is go online to fill out the application. This takes out the human side of things. We don’t communicate as we once did and that has created more problems. That was created by technology.
Cheating
Cheating on a test or a spouse, it doesn’t matter which way you look at it. People find it much easier to cheat on others with the use of technology. For instance, cell phones make it much easier for a person to contact another person without a spouse knowing about it. That is because each of you has your own phone. It is also much easier to meet people who are willing to cheat with you because of computers. You can’t get around it. Technology has created the ease with which people will hurt each other and that is a problem.
Job Loss
Jobs have been lost due the technologies existence. People used to shop in stores. However, the internet has made shopping online the way to go. This puts a lot of businesses out of business. That means that all of those employees are without jobs. Technology has created a huge part of the downfall of businesses who thrive on walk in customers rather than online. Those businesses that don’t get online often lose out to those that do. Jobs are lost and everyone is a loser.
Physical Activity
One of the biggest problems that technology has created is that we just don’t get much physical activity anymore. We would rather sit in front of the big screen television playing on our laptops than to go out for a nice brisk walk. Our children would much rather sit in front of the television playing guitar hero than to be out playing with their friends. Technology created a bigger obesity problem than we have ever had before. Put down the gaming paddles and get outside! Technology certainly has its place in the world. Many great things have happened because of its use. However, we have let it take over our lives so much that we forget the other side of the coin. Human interaction in real life is more important. Keeping our families together should be more important than a person that you never even met in person. There is nothing wrong with technology in and of itself. It is what we do with it that causes the problems. Technology creates more problems than it solves, and may threaten or damage the quality of life.”