Post #11 Final Post: The Impact of Technology

For generations people have speculated how the future would look and would often predict popular technological inventions, such as highways that lead to "the city of the future," in the video '64-65 NY World's Fair FUTURAMA Ride Video. Regardless if it is the first telephone or the world's first super computer, society has always sought to advance. An example of a form of technology that continues to advance is the cellphone. Cellphones, specifically Smart Phones, are like having a whole futuristic system in the palm of  your hand. Phones are constant and can be a major distraction. From watching the video "Are You Lost In the World Like Me," phones are powerful distractions that can take over people's lives. Any piece of technology can alter people's attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs and they can redefine the way people view the world. As the world and technology have progressed, so have phones and the more phones advance, the more people will be "prisoners" to their screens". Phones can not only steal people's abilities to experience the real world by keeping them glued to their screens, they can also negatively impact your overall intelligence. Phones provide the ability to research anything and everything and because of this, people are relying on their technological devices to do the learning and heavy lifting for them. By doing this, their intelligence and book smarts decrease which can cause serious problem when trying to apply for a job, get an education, or solve real world problems. 

Technology can be viewed as many things, such as, good, bad, beneficial, corrupting, and the list can go on. Technology has advanced in many ways and whether people know it or not, this modern world is already fully reliant on technology. Now, do not get me wrong, my relationship with technology is strong, and at times, I believe that my use of technology is a bit excessive, but the generation that I was born in was around the time that technology began to flourish, so in reality, technology is all that I know. 

Technology can be very useful and helpful. My family, friends, and I, or really anyone can use technology to their advantage. I use technology on a daily basis. I use it for homework, to browse on social media, to watch television, and truthfully, I could not live without technology. I was raised on technology and it has become my normal and it is apart of my everyday life. There are numerous ways that technology can be helpful. Technology can be used for medical purposes by helping to detect if someone is sick, it can lead to future discoveries, it opens up an endless amount of new and old information, and it provides easier ways to get to certain destinations around the world. There are so many ways that technology can be beneficial, it is just a matter of opinion on if you think technology is helpful or harmful. 

Technology can also be a place of manipulation and toxicity. Before technology really started to take off with it's advancements in the early 2000s, people used to actually interact with other people face to face instead of face to phone. Technology impacts daily lives and it determines how people interact with each other. Instead of people hanging out or doing things in person, they are Facetiming, Snapchatting, or Messaging and fully relying on technology to make connections. With the advancement of technology, there is also an increase in security, cameras, and monitoring. This means that there are more people out there monitoring us and our every move, scary right? Not only are people watching us, they are also listening and keeping data on what we research on the internet, watch, and click on, so that they can send us products and advertisements in hopes that we will click on it and buy it. With technology being so advanced, it is difficult to think about all the negativity that follow, but with the good comes the bad and technology is no exception. There are so many ways that technology can be corruptive and we think that the technology that we have now is high tech, just wait and see what the future of technology may bring. 

According to Reviews.org, in 2022, on average, Americans check their phones 344 times per day. That's once every 4 minutes! The amount of time that people are on their phones and technology as a whole is unhealthy, but can you blame them with how technologically advanced the world is? To give an example on how much I spend on my phone, on April 25th, 2022, I spent 5 hours and 43 minutes on my phone and that amount of screen time is not including my laptop and the television. I go on Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok everyday. I like to use the various forms of social media. These forms of social media are ways for me to keep up with what is going on around the world, stay connected with my friends and family members, keep up to date with the newest trends, and just to pass the time. I would say that I have an unhealthy relationship with technology and the amount of time that I am giving to technology is inappropriate. For me, my phone, laptop, and television are what I would consider an "escape" from the real world. I have adapted to the use of technology and because I grew up surrounded by all things technology, I do not know any better. Now, I know that I have the ability to lower my use of technology, but the way it is advancing, eventually almost everything will become so technologically programmed that we will start using technology when we do not even realize when we are using it. 

Technology has become the new normal. It has wiggled it's way into society and society has accepted it and allowed it to prosper. The advancement is not slowing down anytime soon and it will only get bigger and either better or worse, depending on your opinion on technology as a whole. It is a scary thing to think that eventually we will have flying cars, people that look like people, but are actually robots, and even robotic bees. The future is limitless and the advancement of technology is endless, which means buckle up and get ready for a world made entirely out of technology.