Written By Namrathaa Shivakumar (Grade 11)
Technology is an integral part of everyday life. Today whatever we want is at our fingertips. Starting from the alarm clock which we use to wake up to the vehicle which we used to move around, everything is made up of technology. Basically, technology can be defined as the sum of technique, skills, methods and processes used in the production of goods and services. Technology has been updated on a large scale in a small span of time. Progress with the improvements in artificial intelligence is remarkable. Technology is making our lives easier and life without technology, is just unimaginable. Nowadays, especially in this pandemic situation technology is the main reason for online classes and office meetings. The technology of surgeries and operations is saving the lives of people all around. Communication technology helps us to connect with people hundreds of kilometres away. Calculators save time. Technology allows us to make online payments and withdrawals. Due to technology like artificial feet and smart sticks, the disabled are now abled. Online shopping and online food delivery are also among these technological developments.
But just like every coin technology also has two sides. Where technology is saving lives it is also taking some of them.
Vehicles emit a lot of smoke which is injurious to humans and toxic to air causing air pollution. It increases global warming. Social media is a platform that millions of people use and one fake forward can take away smile on many people’s face. Phones are hacked and even wardrobe malfunction is done. Nowadays refrigerators and AC’s release CFC that is chlorofluorocarbons which increase global warming. Nowadays in many factories, everything is just done with the help of machines and this is wiping out people’s jobs resulting in unemployment. Due to online shopping, brick-and-mortar stores are facing losses. Watching the screen all day long affects our health. It also leads to family distancing – people in the same house do not talk to each other but only to their devices. People have started becoming dependant. For young kids, social media drags their attention towards many addictive things such as drugs and suicides.
But where there’s a will there’s always a way so let’s know their solutions. Vehicles should be used within the limit. Cycles should be used which reduce pollution and improves our health. Social media should be allowed to be uses only after 18 years of age and privacy shouldn’t be violated. Before believing in any message, a reality check should be done. Vegetables should not be bought in excess so that we can reduce the use of refrigerators. AC should be used in limit and the doors and windows should be shut while heating or cooling the house or car.
Just like everything in life, technology, should be questioned and looked at from a moral and ethical way. Technology is something made by us humans so we should be able to control and use it in limit and stop ourselves from being dependant on it. It depends upon us whether we use technology as boon to save lives or use it as bane to destroy lives.
Featured Image Courtesy – Investopedia
