Technology is the use of scientific knowledge for practical purposes or applications, whether in industry or in our everyday lives. It includes the tools and machines that people use to convert natural resources into items they need. Technology is one of the most powerful agents of change in our society. New inventions bring new ways of doing things. Change comes with technology and it is now moving at a faster pace than ever. Technology and human life cannot be separated. We depend upon technology in our daily life and our needs and demands for technology keep on rising. Humans use technology to travel, to communicate, to learn, to do business and to live in comfort. Over the last 2 to 3 decades, technology has become more and more a part of our daily lives. However, technology has also caused us concerns. Its poor application has resulted in the pollution of the environment and it has also caused a serious threat to our lives and society. This needs for the proper use of technology. Technology impacts the environment, people and society as a whole. The way we use technology determines if its impacts are positive to the society or negative. I have listed both positive and negative impacts of technology in the upcoming paragraphs.
Positive Impacts of Technology
Humans have come a long way since the cave-dwelling days of their ancestors. Technology is the only reason why today we are in cars and trains, computers and refrigerators are used. It gives the world electricity in the dark and entertainment during boredom. Medical technology saves lives. Also, it saves time. Following are some of the main positive impacts of the technology.
- Effective Transportation: Technology has improved transportation. Transportation is one of the basic areas of technological activity. Both society and businesses have benefited from new transportation methods. The most used of all modes of transportation is Road transportation, which facilitates the transportation of goods and people. Vehicles like buses and trucks have improved the way humans move and how they transport their goods from place to another. Also, developing countries are getting funds from wealthy countries to improve their road transport which has resulted in the development of rural remote areas.
- Mechanized Agriculture: The use of technology in agriculture has also resulted in the manufacturing of genetic crops which can grow fast and they can be resistant to many pests and diseases. Also, farmers have access to artificial fertilizers which add value to the soil and boost the growth of their crops and enable them to produce high-quality yields. Even farmers in dry areas now have been in a position to grow healthy crops, they use advanced water pumps and sprinklers which derive water from rivers to the farms, the all process can be automated to save time.
- Fast Communication: The technology has vastly improved both the method and speed of communication all around the world. Electronic communication is used for a number of purposes. Both society and organizations depend on communication to transfer information. People use technology to communicate with each other. Electronic media like radios, televisions, internet, and social media have improved the way we exchange ideas which can develop our societies. Communication technologies like televisions, radios, and internet can be used to motivate, entertain and inform the society. Small businesses have also used the internet and mobile communication technology to grow and improve their customer service.
- Improved Education Process: Education is the backbone of every nation’s economy. People need well and organized educational infrastructures so that they can learn how to interpret information. Technology has improved education and learning process. A considerable number of the global population does not have access to quality education. With the help of the internet, anyone can have access to not only basic education but also advanced topics. Nowadays, reputed educational institutions from different countries are already recording lectures and publishing those materials on the internet for everyone to watch and learn. With better internet connectivity, everybody can get the brief education.
- Improved Healthcare System: Continuous technological developments in healthcare have saved countless lives and improved the quality of life for even more. Advancements in medical technology have allowed physicians to better diagnose and treat their patients. Areas like biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, information technology, the development of medical devices and equipment, and more have all made significant contributions to improving the health of people all around the world. Advances in medical technology are changing medicine by giving physicians more information as well as better, more specific data.
- Impact on Society: Nowadays, technology has great significance in our day to day lives. From the start of the day to the end of the day, we use a variety of technical gadgets and devices whole day to do things simply in the right way like the refrigerator is the invention of technology where we place foodstuff. Our surroundings are all full of technology even when we call someone for help by making a phone call; it is only possible with the aid of technological advancement. It is making our relationship stronger and long lasting by providing us latest, easy to access and rapid ways of communication like telephone, social media, and email and so on. In these days, giant digital screens are available in classrooms instead of white or blackboard and it shows that technology is playing a vital role to make the learning easier and proficient for students. Now students can carry their all educational material in a tablet or laptop so this is how technology impact on education
Negative Impacts of Technology
With every advancement that is made in the technological world, creative destruction results. The coming in of new types of technology also results in a negative impact on the growth of the economy at times. Following are some major negative impacts of technology.
- Resource Depletion: The more demand for new technologies and the advancement of current technologies, the more pressure we put on earth’s natural resources. The demand for electronic gadgets like mobile phones, PC etc is high, but to sustain this demand, manufacturers have to exploit the nature for resources like aluminum but once these resources are extracted from the earth crust, they will never return back because it took a billion years to reproduce them naturally which means that in future, we shall be left with no natural resource which can be a problem to the future generation and economy. Furthermore, the intensive farming practices will deplete the soil. This makes heavy applications of commercial fertilizers necessary to yield healthy harvests, but also these fertilizers have chemicals which are dangerous to the soil and human lives.
- Increased Population: The technology has helped humans to live longer by improving healthcare facilities and aiding in the research of solutions for most health problems which affect human beings. It is good for the developed countries but it’s bad for the developing countries which have not been in a position to access these kinds of medical health care benefits which are brought by technology. In the developed countries, the growth of population is controlled by various advanced birth control methods; which helped them to balance their population in relation to natural resources and other opportunities which only come with a planned population. However in developing countries, this is different, the rate at which people produce is very high, the mortality rate is high, food is scarce and health care is poor.
- Increased Pollution: Pollution affects the land on which we grow the crops, the water we drink and the air we breathe. The increased demand for new technologies and the advancement of technologies has resulted in the setup of many manufacturing and processing factories. As they create the technologies for society and business, resulting in emit of harmful chemicals and gasses which pollute our environment and this has resulted in climate change phenomena called global warming. So the more technology we enjoy, the more we harm our environment. Experts have tried to implement ways of reducing this impact by encouraging factories to go green, to a small extent, this has been achieved through the development of green technologies like; green cars, green computers, but a great effort is still needed to reduce the pollution of the air and the earth.
- Excess Deforestation: In the name of development, comfort etc. there is widespread deforestation. This is possible due to the larger capacity of machinery technology. We make wide clearing of greenery in short span and also dig tunnels through the hills. Moreover, we lay out vast roads by clearing the forestation around. Though it seems enjoyable to humans. It is definitely affecting nature. Hence we can see the rapid extinction of many species of plants, birds and animals due to widespread deforestation. This is detrimental to a normal environment and climate around. Those countries with a good percentage of forest area are having a friendly environment.
- Impact on Society: Today where technology is taking control of everything, there is nothing wrong to say that it is harming the society as well. Idleness is one of the common negative impacts of technology on society because everything is digital and technical in the environment and making us less likely to do things ourselves. We all use different tech gadgets and devices to do things instead of doing on their own and it is making us inactive that can arise many health-related issues. Using technical gadgets like phones while driving can have a negative impact on a valuable life if an accident happens only due to texting or calling while driving. Technology changes the way children think. They believe that computer, mobile phone, tablet and other commonly used gadgets can do all things on behalf of them and they do not need to move even a single step to open the door when the bell rings because of an auto door lock.
Every coin has two faces. Similarly, technology has both positive and negative impacts on society, nature and on other aspects like education, social relations etc. Our dependence on technology needs to be curbed, not the technology itself. We need to control our own selves and limit the usage of gadgets and the Internet. We must use our resources in a planned way so that our coming generations will also enjoy their benefits.
