Is technology taking over our life?

Communication through technology

Has your mom ever told you, “You’re on that thing all day! Come spend time with us!” So you sit there and say, “I was only on it for like 5 minutes.” But we know you’ve been on that for so much longer.

Our elders always tell us to get off our phones because it’s constantly chipping away at our life, but they’re old and grumpy all the time and they’re just jealous of how they didn't have that kind of stuff when they were growing up. Some of them even argue about why it’s extremely dangerous for your brain if you’re on the Internet for so long.

To some extent I do agree with them. Being on our smart phones does hurt us if we use it day and night.

Can you imagine one day our kids are asking a stranger for directions someplace, but they don’t know how to talk to them because they never developed those social skills. This will likely happen with our technology addictions if we don’t stop.

Now you’re probably thinking, “That’s not going to happen, I’m going to spend quality time with my kid and teach him or her all about interaction with others and taking charge.” Sure, that’s great and all, but little do we know taking pictures of our kids and sharing it on Instagram or Twitter is not actually spending time together.

Although technology has its downsides, it also has good points. We have conveniences such as shopping to online newspapers at our fingertips, and we can buy everything from coffee to TVs.

Sometimes we fail to realize that technology is what makes us who we are today. You can even say that its shaping our next stage of evolution. People are not only getting in touch with their communities, but they’re getting in touch with the world through the power of the Internet that technology has given us.

In general, if we were to remain without communications technology, we wouldn’t be able to progress as a species, if only because it gives us a lot more leisure time.

Surely, technology is here to stay, so adapt to it. It does have both positives and negatives, but ultimately it is neither bad nor good.

We need technology in our lives because it helps us stay connected to other people and lets us keep in touch with the entire world, allowing us to have more time with others.

We just need to be aware of the pitfalls because some people show signs of addiction of and not wanting any physical contact – except with their technological device.

 

Graphic by Pam Black

Share this article