Possible Effect of Technological Advancement

Technology ?– How Much Is too Much?

There are some theories, concerning the future, which we can easily visualize in our minds. One of such theories will possibly be concerned with the high-tech future. The way we imagine a high-tech future is the result of popular culture and marketing innovations, which are persuading us to consume more of what is popular in the modern age. Indeed, it will not be surprising to see the high-tech future, as technology has already gained its ground in our lives and everyday routines. In fact, almost every sphere of our lives has become computerized, including medicine, education, and many other areas. The current paper discusses the possible effect of technological advancement, as well as its negative impact on different spheres of our lives.

In fact, the future perspectives of technology’s usage are not as interesting to consider as the way technology is deployed and interconnected with our lives. Primarily, it is evident that technology is a common thing for the majority of people. Thus, almost every student uses the Internet and computers in his/her education. According to Steve Jones, the great majority of college students (85%) own computers (Jones 2). Moreover, Jones states that the majority of students admitted the Internet and various gadgets to be inseparable and enhancing factors of their education. It is easy to notice that technologies, alongside with the Internet, have made the process of finding and exchanging information, as well as interaction more simple, which is beneficial in the course of study.

Another area, which widely deploys technology and its innovations, is medicine. Barbash and Glied state that robotic technologies are rapidly acquiring its popularity in surgery, despite the high costs of such operations (Barbash 703). It is true that technologies enable medical professionals to make any actions more accurate and, consequently, increase the probability of the positive outcomes for patients. In addition, according to this example, it can be identified that technologies are generally considered to simplify our lives and make some actions more effective and convenient.

However, the concept of technology’s efficiency is two-fold. As has already been mentioned, technology and robots, in particular, are gradually replacing humans at their work. Thus, the perspective of destroying some jobs and industries does not seem impossible. Although, as we still determine the way of using technologies, the jobs replaced by technology gadgets will be defined only by our decisions and actions. In addition, it is difficult to imagine a person who is eager to live in the world, where everything is self-serviced and self-fixed.

It should be stated that technology, to a small degree, is a useful tool. However, by deploying it too much, we might lose the possibilities of life which are open to us. It is obvious that any kind of success implies the interaction with people and the constant improvement of our skills. Thus, while giving all the tasks for a computer or any other machine, we gradually stop our development in one sphere or another. Moreover, if to speak about the changes we observe today, the simple real-life communication is substituted by the gadgets interactions. However, hiding behind smartphones and virtual reality is not the best way to become a part of a society, which is based on a certain range of norms and morals.

If to focus on the possible effect of overusing technologies, the example of education and other kinds of mental work can be employed. Thus, Karr-Wisniewski has indicated the fact that the usage of technology and computers at a workplace can have a negative impact on employees’ productivity (Karr-Wisniewski 1065). There exists a phenomenon called technology overload, which stops the process of productivity instead of facilitating it. The concept linked to this notion is information overload, which is the result of deploying too much technology at work. Consequently, free access to information and easiness of completing certain tasks by deploying technology do not always contribute to acquiring knowledge and improving the skills.

The computerization of education is one of the issues which is closely related to the subject of technology’s negative effect. It is possible to image the computerized classrooms and blackboards, as well as robot substitution of a teacher in the nearest future. However, the technology’s positive effects on the educational processes are still being argued. On the one hand, deploying technologies in studying is the progressive way of conveying information in a more systematized manner and engaging students in some interesting activities (Scherer 19). It is also a beneficial means of finding and memorizing data in a faster way. Moreover, it implies new methods of comprehending and completing tasks, which can appear to be efficient in the future.

On the other hand, the above-mentioned technology and information overload can take place in the sphere of education and have an even more negative impact on the student’s perception of necessary information (Dye 1). Thus, receiving too much information in a short period of time will not result in acquiring any knowledge. Furthermore, in education, as in any other area, there are aspects which cannot be substituted by computers. The mere interpretation of practical tasks in creative subjects is hard to realize by using technologies only. In addition, technologies cannot substitute people as means of communication and explanation. There is no technology, which can find the right approach to a person, provide psychological help or encourage further development. In conclusion, it should be stated that the usage of technology is a beneficial means of acquiring knowledge and skills. However, in case it is used in the wrong way, it will impact people’s advancement negatively and make people be more passive. Both the positive and negative effects of technology are considered controversial. It is obvious that in the majority of our lives’ aspects, there is no way to substitute communication with technologies, at least in the nearest future.