Effect of Technology on Society
Introduction
Technology rests in the root of the society, where most of our everyday activities are driven through the use of the many machines, and sources that technology has brought to us over the years. Without technology we may fail to produce the efficiency in carrying out a lot of our work that we do so with the help of it. Technology thus has revolutionized the society. It has brought us face to face with abundance of information, communication possibilities, higher living standards and means of earning. We are filled with opportunities that keep of growing and are only limited to ones imagination of what could be done with technology. But with every form of technology that comes in, there also rests some drawback which are either overcome or simply overlooked.
The paper will look at how technology impacts the industrial success, the communication and information flow in the society, and then all the way down to the life of a simple man. It will describe how technology affects employment, the system of education and communication and the everyday work let it be for industries or a simple household.
Employments
The biggest revolution that marks the origins of the use of technology is during the industrial revolution when incredible machinery such as aircraft, production lines, combustion engines and textile machinery made their way into the many industries of England. During this time, technology changed the people’s lives incredibly. They had jobs and income and life that were a lot different from before. Technology became a means of producing higher employment and a higher standard of living. But that was a simple life, when the only industries and trade were done through mass production. In today’s time, technology is an integral part of an organization and when new technology is introduced, such as introduction of new accounting software, employees need to be trained to use it and have to have certain skills to operate it. Showing resistance to the use of technology has no room (Oak). If, the employees are insufficiently capable to use the technology, if their job becomes outdated, and if they show resistance to accept it, they are there and then made redundant because all this only slows down production and efficiency. Thus, as much as technology creates higher employment opportunities, it also brings job security for those who are not ingrained to the latest technology.
Higher Standard of Living
Technology has revolutionized business, which has increased opportunities for people in terms of more jobs titles, and more career opportunities, such as a computer analyst, or a software programmer. With technological advancement in the world of business, people who have displayed higher skill level have been earning higher returns. Not only them, but even a common man with an average income is seen sitting home with a TV remote control in his hand while his kids finish their homework on the computer (Terr). No more does a woman has to manually make food, when stoves and microwaves are available and a man has to walk home when a car is available. But on the flip side, technological benefits are not availed by all, it is thus, not accessible by all. We can still see a street kid, walking home to his poor hut in a third world country, craving for a better life.
Information Flow and Education
The biggest impact, after industrial revolution brought about by technology is in the form of higher accessibility and flow of information. The simplest example is the internet. Through internet, almost everyone with a computer can access thousands of articles of information stored in millions of websites, in a matter of minutes! How is that for a speedy flow of information? Even the cell phone nowadays, have access to the internet, and people during walking in the park, have access to all the information in the world. Businesses are conducting their market researches based on the internet as well (Graves). Not just the internet, but technology has brought about many information storing and managing systems that allow storage of a wide amount of information, such as the employee records of the entire business.
The flow of information through the internet has benefited the most the education of many. Children are assisted with their homework, and those who are physically incapable of walking can learn through internet while being at home.
But this easy flow of information has its drawbacks as people tend to produce scams on the internet to rip people off their money. There are various fraudulent website organizations operating on the internet that misguide and conduct fraud on the internet on a daily basis and have become a menace.
Communication
Internet and cell phones allow people to interact with people all around the world. Technology has made communication faster and more reliable. For this reason, most of the communication of businesses is done through email correspondence because it is faster and produces prompt results. Technology has eliminated the element of waiting to hear the response, when as soon as we press the ‘send’ button on our cell phone, within a minute we receive the reply of our text message from our friends or family. Walking, running, flying, we are able to be in contact with almost everyone we want. The cell phones today allow internet accessibility and it feels a person holds the world of information and communication in his hand by means of a tiny piece of machinery which is one of the wonders of the technology.
Environment
When computers were first invented, it was said that in future, computer will be so big that to operate them we will require the entire Nigara Falls to provide the sufficient electricity. But computers changed that concept, as they require less electricity and energy to operate. More and more progress has led to many technological advances that are aimed to towards minimum exploitation of resources to fulfill the demands of the humans in society. Examples of these attempts are the use of CNG fuel in cars, cars being operated through electric batteries rather than petrol, solar power to produce electricity, and a lot more (Hjorth 230).
But not all countries are benefiting from the eco-friendly technology and many countries today are still faced with high exploitation of the natural resources.
Conclusion
Technology is that means of abundant opportunities that made have made a life of a human a blessing. People use technology to produce scams and frauds, but that can not make us overlook the fact that without technology we would not have arrived to where we are today with a higher standard of living, more job and growth opportunities, more preservation of natural resources, and more education prospects along with higher communication flow. The drawbacks can only be eliminated if people start using technology based on state laws so that technology never becomes a menace.
