The Positive and Negative Effects of Technology Essay Example

I think we can all agree that technology has had effects on people. The question that has remained on my mind is, has the limitation of human contact due to the use of technology had a positive or negative affect on people’s lives? Technology helps people stay in contact, increases learning, and it can also be unsafe. I interviewed my Grandmother, Karen Dillion, who is turning 70 years old this summer. She was born in 1952 and her family didn't get a television until she turned seven. “All the televisions had tubes that had to be replaced if one burned out - kinda like a light bulb.  We had a tv repairman who came to our home to do the repair or we took them to a television repair shop.   Now, we have Smart TVs, big screens that go up to theater size ones.   I don't even know what other smart tv's are capable of.” She told me.

With the Corona virus going around, it was much easier for people to stay in contact compared to when the 1957 Asian Flu. This is due to technology. “As for telephones, I was in the seventh grade when our family got our first telephone. I grew up in rural West Virginia, and that is when phones came to our neighborhood. My friends on the other side of the mountain had phones before that.  All the phones were on a party line - usually four households were on one line. If you picked up the phone to make a phone call and one of your neighbors on the party line was using the phone you had to wait until they finished their conversation before the line was free. You could also "eavesdrop" on your neighbors who were using the phone and listening to their conversation with whoever they were talking to. Now we pay a monthly fee and are free to make as many long distance calls as we want to as long as they aren't international calls.  Now, many households don't have a phone in their home, the only phones they have are smart cell phones so it's easier for people to stay in contact with others. I got my first cell phone around 1998.  It was a flip phone.  Today I have an iphone.  There are still many places in WV that don't have cell phone service.    By most people I'm still very old fashioned on today's technology.  I don't have a Facebook account and don't use all the social accounts. I text and use my phone every day. Having a smartphone has really helped me stay in contact with friends and family.” She told me. We both agree that it helps people not be so alone because they can still talk to other people without worrying about getting sick or hurt. For example, if people are meeting somewhere for the first time, they could use a feature called FaceTime to see that the person is who they say they are.

Technology increases learning.  “I must say though that I'm 70 and still learning every day about technology and new technology. Our cars have to have a computer system to run and to tell you directions, our washing machines have a computer to make them work, some even have an app that you can use on your Smartphone to start a new clothes cycle, as well as dishwashers. If I live long enough - who knows what else I will witness. It's exciting to think about what else I may learn.” My Grandmother told me. Technology also can help children learn on their own so they can become more independent and not have to rely on people as much. With an internet connection people have access to millions, billions maybe, of pieces of information at our fingertips 24 hours today. 

Technology can be unsafe for a lot of reasons. Children can talk to anyone and could possibly get kidnaped, or worse, murdered. A way to prevent this is to be careful who you talk to online and for parents to set the appropriate restrictions for the child's age. Elderly people are a target for scams. The reason for this is mostly because they don't know a lot and are confused about technology. A link can pop up and say that they have viruses on their computer. To an older person they might not comprehend that the pop up is fake so they click on it. They can get their accounts hacked, credit card and social security number stolen, and they could be victims of identity fraud. To prevent this, the older people's children talk to them about these things and to try to help teach them that they are scams. 

There are both positives and negatives to technology. It can help people stay in contact, increase learning, and it can be unsafe. I think that technology has had both a positive and negative effect on people's lives. My grandmother is really good at using technology for her age. Yes, she might have questions about it sometimes but she has people around her that can help her.