Positive affects of technology of society

Technology runs in the veins of society. It is the fuel that drives our lives. It is an integral part of daily
life. It has definitely benefited society. It has brought luxury in the life of every common man.
Automation brought about by technology has saved human effort and time to a large extent. It has
brought distant places closer and simplified information access. It has made the world a smaller place
to live in. Let us look at some of the important areas, where technology has brought a positive change.
Automation of Processes in the Industry and the Household: Technology has automated many of the
critical processes in the industry as well as the household. Imagine the amount of labor that must have
been involved in industrial processes when the concept of automation did not exist. Electronic gadgets
have entered homes of the common man to rescue him from the boredom of daily chores. Imagine the
amount of time people must be spending doing household chores during the time there were no
machines and household appliances. It's better not imagined. Today's is the age of robotics. Machines
can learn, adopt new things and perform tasks with near-human efficiency.
Changed Modes of Transport: The automobile industry and technology are interwoven. Time has
witnessed this industry evolve from mechanical scooters to automated aircraft. Animals were the only
modes of transport in the olden days. Technology was the driving force behind the creation and design
of the modern-day automobiles. Bicycles evolved into scooters and sports bikes. The idea of having
four-wheeled modes of transport gave rise to the creation of cars. Modes of air and water transport
came up, thanks to technology.
Reduced Risk to Human Life: Machines have automated many crucial industrial processes. Machines
are now taking up mundane jobs that were once done by human workers. Technology has evolved to
an extent where machines can perform tasks that are not feasible for man, either because they are
risky or life-threatening or because they are beyond human capacity. The use of advanced
technologies like robotics and artificial intelligence has proven to be helpful in life-risking endeavors
like mining and space exploration.
Data Management and Information Retrieval: Computer technology, needless to say, has changed the
face of the world. Computers can store, organize and manage huge amounts of data. They can process
large amounts of information. Computers have given rise to the software industry, one of the most
progressive industries of the world. The Internet that seeded from computer networking concepts is
the most effective communication platform and the largest information base existing today.
Impact on the Entertainment and Advertising Industries: The Internet has brought a positive change to

the entertainment and advertising industries. Over the Internet, advertisements can reach the masses
within seconds. Internet advertisements have changed equations of the advertising industry. Branding
on the Internet is much more effective that other forms of product promotion. The entertainment
media has progressed because of advancements in technology. Movies, songs, games are a few clicks
away. People have begun using the Internet to watch and download movies, listen to music, play
games and entertain themselves. Thanks to handy, mobile and user-friendly devices, all this has
become really easy.
Onset of the Digital Age: There's hardly anything analog now, we live in a digital world, a digital age.
Talk pixels and bytes. The digitization of information has made it possible for us to store it in a
compact form. Ever wondered how gigabytes of data can be stored on a small chip? Digitization it is!
Also, digitization enriches the quality of data storage. Digital voice and digital images are of a higher
quality. Digital cameras and digital TVs provide users with an enriched picture quality, thus bettering
user experience with technology.
Communication Redefined: Cellular communication has revolutionized the communication industry.
The conventional telephone, also a piece of technology, was one of the earliest technological
developments in communication. Mobile phones have broadened the horizons of communication by
enabling convenient long-distance calling and mobile use. Letters have taken a backseat and emails
and cell phone messages have become the easiest means to connect. Owing to developments in
technology, communication is wireless. Social networking is another defining factor here. It has given
an all new dimension to communication, entertainment and recreation.
Satellite Technology: Satellite communication is an important facet of technology. Satellite TV and
satellite radio have eased the broadcasting of events across the globe. How else do you think could
matches and concerts be broadcasted live? Not just TV and radio, even communication to ships and
airplanes wouldn't have been possible if not for satellite communication. Even your hand-held devices
wouldn't be of use, if not for radio communication.
These were still a few fields influenced by technology. It is almost impossible to enlist all the positive
effects of technology on society. The fast-advancing technology on the whole, has given impetus to
developments in various fields and improved the quality of human life. There's less risk, less effort,
less mess. There's more leisure, more ease and more speed - all because of that ten-letter word - not a
word, a phenomenon - technology.

Negative Effects of Technology on Society

The more advanced technology becomes, the more it seems to have control over our lives. According
to Lee Siegel, "we shop, work, play, love, search for information, seek to communicate with each
other and sometimes with the world online. We spend more time online than ever before. Yet people
are not arguing about this startling new condition." I believe that people have too readily embraced
technology, seeking only the benefits, and ignoring the many downfalls.

"It does not matter if your home is a noisy urban walk-up or a quaint cottage on a secluded bluff. If
you have a screen and can pick up a signal, your mind is still in the same placeless place"(Siegel, 64).
This "placeless place" that Siegel talks about is the zone that your mind enters when you stare at a
screen too long, and it feels like your mind stops Thinking.
Recent developments in technology such as the internet also led to a decline in normal social
behaviors. The old-fashioned caf provided a way to both share and abandon solitude, but sitting in
your screen world is a whole other story. You are socially and psychologically cut off from your
fellow caffeine addicts (Siegel, 16, 17). In ages past, you could walk around town for a whole day
without seeing all the people you know. Now, everyone you know is within arms reach, taking that
certain psychological feeling out of seeing people. You see them every second of every day, and hear
nearly every single thought of theirs as soon as they think them.
Years ago, it was predicted by many that the future would be an amazing and surreal place, yet, no
one really seems very shocked about the advances. You can see evidence everywhere. The news is a
great example- you see or read an interesting story, think about it for a second, and then you brush it
over your shoulder, without any critical thinking, or wondering how it will affect your life.
The Internet has radically changed nearly every level of human experience in an incredibly short
amount of time (Siegel, 22). Two decades ago, you would have had to write a letter to communicate
with others far away; if you missed an episode of your favorite show, you would have had to wait for
reruns; and to read the news you would have to pick up a newspaper. These are but a few ways the
internet has changed human experience.
Also with these advancements comes the fact that people are not always alone, even when physically
isolated. With connectedness approaching ubiquity, physical isolation no longer ensures total
isolation (Powers 64). In addition, Powers also writes that, Paul Tillich once wrote that the word
loneliness exists to express the pain of being alone, while solitude expresses the glory of being

alone. What most people feel upon being disconnected is loneliness, or the pain; while if you are
disconnected long enough you feel solitude, or the glory, of being alone.
On another different topic, it seems that nearly everything is being assimilated into technologyGoogle Earth documented the entire map of the Earth; taxes, email, chatting, shopping, and work can
be done over the internet; you can read on your Kindle; you can make home-made movies on
Windows Movie Maker; and hundreds of other such ways. According to a new creed, technologists
are turning ourselves, the planet, our species, everything, into computer peripherals attached to the
great computing clouds. The news is no longer about us but about the big new computational product
that is greater than us (Vaidnyanathan, 45).
In nearly every commercial, ad, and promotional, people encourage others to buy the latest gadget, or
upgrade to the latest new thing. Our culture reminds us every day how useful these devices are, and
exhorts us to take advantage of this by making sure we are as digitally connected as current
technology allows (Powers, 25). Is constant contact with the world really a good thing? If you are
always in contact, there will be a decreasing amount of time to devote to yourself, and others will
shape your opinions more and more. Like the car, the internet has been made out to be a miracle of
social and personal transformation, when it is really a marvel of convenience- and in the case of the
internet, one that has caused a social and personal upheaval (Siegel, 25).
In 2008, just 16 percent of the worlds working population qualified as hyper-connected, but the
study predicted that 40 percent of us would soon meet the criteria (Powers, 32). The rate at which
people are adapting their lives around technology is amazing, considering the early resistance to the
concept. Ultimately, it does not matter how many or how few different devices we use to connect.
The question is whether the hyper-connected life is taking us where we want to go (Powers, 32). A
majority of people own and regularly use computers, but most never question them when it comes to
crashes, replacements, viruses, etc. and when it comes time to replace them, they never question it.
We do not have to replace paper every few years. Paper does not crash when you put too much on it.
There are never stressful and time-wasting updates to paper. Why have we moved to computers,
then?
We live more in our heads than any society has at any time in history, and for some the only reality is
the one inside their heads (Siegel, 6). Our society is a very work-oriented place- we try to fill up our
schedules to the brim in an attempt to get as much done as possible. It has never occurred to many
people that doing that much work may have negative psychological effects, such as preventing them
from pursuing hobbies and spending quality time with family. Technology has a very much similar
effect. First, when you get a phone you check it occasionally, maybe under the dinner table. Soon you

start checking it more often and out in the open, sometimes not hearing what people say and even
missing whole conversations. It can even get worse than that in some situations.
When we become habituated to the amazing technological achievements of recent years, we forget to
be thrilled and amazed. We lose that great sense of wonder, of awe. We take brilliance for granted and
so we ignore the human elements of fortitude, creativity, and intelligence (Vaidnyanathan, 51-52).
We have all heard it: people whining about when a computer fails to do something as promised. Its
so slow. A Mac would be so much better. My computer ate it. These are all examples. People
seem to conk out when something small goes wrong. What we all forget sometimes is that how
amazing these techs really are when used right. We are so lucky that we even have computers, laptops,
tablets, and televisions in the first place. Everything had to fall in place just at the right times for all
this to work out.
The internets premium on popularity as the sole criterion of success gives the lie to its claims of
choice, access, and increased opportunity for individual expression (Siegel, 98). It has become
incredibly easy with the rise of the internet to become popular just by making the biggest impression.
Being the funniest, cruelest, the one with the saddest story are all similar ways of becoming an
internet phenomenon. It is even reflected in popular culture, where being the fastest rapper or wearing
the sexiest fashions all makes the headlines. These are all the same; they are shallow. You really do
not have to work hard at being sexy, or rapping, or even having a sad story. This generation leans on
technology to serve their pleasures, and claim to be successful, or at least act like it. According to
Powers, being connected causes us to think more outward, about what is happening, rather than just
around you in your immediate life. In addition, Siegal claims that online experience is either about
satisfying your immediate desires, or the desires of others.
The internet is not always completely safe, either. Vaidnyanathan states, If you read Googles privacy
policy carefully, it is clear that they retain the right to make significant decisions about our data
without regard for our interests. With the new movement to store everything on the cloud, who
knows if a single hacker would be able to take down entire chunks of the internet. Similarly, Bill
Gates has said, As more and more people store personal information on the internet, how will we
ensure that information is kept secret? As our economy becomes more dependent on bits than atoms,
how will we protect these resources from being damaged or devalued by hackers? As the barriers to
information come down, how will we protect from negative and predatory influences? And, as the
internet dissolves national borders, how will we help indigenous cultures co-exist with an increasingly
homogenous global culture?
In conclusion, modern technologies can very well be a double-edged sword, from safety to

connectedness. They do have their advantages, but as with many revolutionary inventions, they can
radically change our lives, for better or worse.