The computer has been one of man’s most influential inventions, paving the way for greater achievements with time. Today, they have become an essential component in fulfilling everyday tasks in both our professional and personal lives. Computers are used to store vast amounts of information, and even replace humans in factories throughout the world. We must now ask ourselves, is this reliance on computers aiding the human mind in achieving its full potential or rather replacing it and hindering our progress? Society is now too dependent on computers. Technology is frequently shifting, and it is altering us in the process. Society is slowly coping with the rapid changes which come with technology. Society cannot continue to remain ignorant of the negative consequences of computers or soon technology will ultimately obliterate us.
Despite the many benefits of computers, there are also a number of arguments against them which I strongly believe should be fully assessed. Today our youth ranging from ages seven to eighteen are indirectly suffering as a result of technology. Gone are the days of outdoor sports and physical group activities. Children are now using some form of technology every hour of their lives and are isolated from the world. Isolation and addiction occurs when children spend hours on the computer and internet, away from their family and peers. “They will often lose all track of time and will stay up all night to be at the computer with little or no sleep.” (Carter, Jerome). Isolation blocks out the development of other activities and essential skills in maturing children for the world ahead. The youth of today now have a false sense of reality where “friends” are now individuals who they meet on Social Networking...
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... us. With new types of computers on the horizon the exposure and availability is greatly increasing therefore we must take heed of this and control our usage.
Works Cited
Carter, Jerome "Computer Addiction Symptoms." Computer Addiction Symptoms. EzineArticles 2007. Web. 16 Feb. 2010
Dornhege, Guido.Toward Brain-Computer Interfacing. New York: The MIT Press, 2007. Print.
Givens, Joshua “The Increasing Human Dependence on Computers" The Increasing Human Dependence on Computers. Associatedcontent. 2008 Web. 16 Feb. 2010
Kogan, Barbara. “How Computers Affect Your Child's Health” Vibrant Life, Findarticles 2001.Web. 15 Feb. 2010
Thesis statement: With the power of computers at our hand, our society has made several improvements in different aspects of our everyday life which can range from education, all the way up to the government itself.
The earliest memory of my using a computer comes from when I was around four years-old; my grandmother sat me in front of a clunky, large desktop running off of Windows 95. It was like it was love at first site, and now it feels as if I’ve always had this sort of love-affair with computers. Technology is something that changes every day. From computers to eReaders it’s as if each time we turn the corner, there is some new update waiting to be downloaded or installed. For some this is no issue, yet for others it’s a massive inconvenience. The latter is left wondering why the current generation is so dependent on technology, or why more and more people prefer to read from a Kindle or Nook rather than “old-fashioned” books. For people with these questions, I strongly advise reading “Lazy Eyes” by Michael Agger, as it not only provides information that’s useful and thought-provoking; it manages to be funny at the same time while Sherry Turkle’s “How Computers Change the Way We Think” is dull, dated, and doesn’t provide any sort of helpful information.
Using the internet as an easy shortcut for things lacks the experiences that children need to develop correctly. There must be a balance of internet and the real life, hard copy form of things for people to really form independent ideas and feelings based on the vast experiences of going to a concert or reading a heavy, worn out, and loved book under a tree that the online version cannot provide. It is experiences like these that help develop motor and sensory skills that are crucial to child development. According to Cris Rowan, the author of “The Impact of Technology on the Developing Child,” the “four critical factors necessary to achieve healthy child development are movement, touch, human connection, and exposure to nature. These types of sensory inputs ensure normal development of posture, bilateral coordination, optimal arousal states and self-regulation necessary for achieving foundation skills” (Rowan). In other words, too much time spent on digital devices instead of playing outside and interacting face-to-face with people can cause some detrimental developmental issues that would affect someone's quality of life. Although technology advancements have created the biggest storage database ever and a world wide web of information and resources, like digital books, that overall improve how society functions, it is still essential for young children to have the experiences that do not involve a screen so that they can develop into healthy young adults who have a understanding of the world, empathy, and their self. Thompson believes that, “We need a new way to talk clearly about the rewards and pleasures of our digital experiences- one that’s rooted in our lived experiences and also detangled from the hype of Silicon Valley.” (353) Individuals cannot appreciate the benefits of technology without the real life
Due to this argument, parents and children now heavily rely on technology for a main source of play, limiting the challenges of all creativity and imagination (Rowan 3). Although technology can provide some games and tools that can help children learn, it does not provide the same benefits as actual play and actually causes more harm than good. One of the main problems with play through technology is the fact that children are seeing a “symbolic representation of the real world” and are not receiving a direct experience of the real world with real people and materials (Rice 3). The more time children spend looking at a screen, the more they are isolating themselves and not spending time with other children and adults (Rice 3). This is not only damaging to the learning development of a child, but also the healthy development of forming relationships and social skills (Rice 3). According to a 2010 Kaiser Foundation study, children who are in elementary school use on average 7.5 hours per day of entertainment technology and spending this much “screen time” is damaging to the development of children because their “sensory, motor, and attachment systems have biologically not evolved to accommodate this
Technology has become something that most people now cannot live without, and are addicted to it. When we talk about the impact of technology on society, we always talk about the positive effects that it has and about how technology has made life easy on us. We talk about the internet as a source of information and communication, and basically forget the fact that excessive exposure to it leads to internet addiction in the end. We often discuss the fact that technology has made life easy, but it is also easy to forget that it has made us largely dependent on it. The article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr, and the article “Better than Human: Why Robots Will—and Must—Take Our Jobs” by Kevin Kelly focus on technology. Kevin Kelly focuses on the future, and Nicholas Carr focuses on the effects that technology has on humans.
There are many concerns about the negative effects of technological advancement including: threat to privacy, electronic error or malfunction, and automation leading to loss of humanity. Many researchers argue that electronic advancement comes at a negative cost to human performance. Leading computer advancement leads to reliance on technology to perform menial tasks. However, there are arguments that state that humans are in fact the ones who threaten all forms of advancement because the produce majority of the error that risk lives and make mistakes. My argument is that though the effects of human error is responsible for mistakes, computer automation will lead to lazy, sedentary lifestyles and reliance on technology for very simple tasks as well as complicated tasks.
Rowan presents facts and statistics demonstrating the reach of children’s technology addiction and the adverse effects of technology on the developing child: emotional implications – children and young adults who are addicted to the internet are more lonely, have lower self-esteem and poorer social skills, and have more difficulty identifying emotions than their non-addicted counterparts; physical effects – 30% of children entering nursery school are developmentally impaired (i.e. lack some of the basic skills needed to thrive in school environments) and there is a definite correlation between the rise in obesity, cardiovascular disorders and diabetes and the increased usage of technology (due to movement deprivation, electromagnetic radiation, etc); mental disorders – ADD and other psychological disorders are on the rise due to the overstimulation of children (children who experience more than two hours a day of screen time are 60% more likely to develop psychological disorders), children are becoming increasingly detached and isolated, and children are becoming more likely to engage in risky behaviour (42% of children between 10 and 17 are frequent users of pornography, with the average age of first exposure at 6 years old); social disorders – the average child’s vocabulary has become stunted (20% of toddlers experience speech and language
The computer has been one of man’s most influential inventions, paving the way for greater achievements with time. Today, computers have become an essential component in fulfilling everyday tasks in both our professional and personal lives. Computers are used to store vast amounts of information, and even replace humans in factories throughout the world. We must now ask ourselves, is this reliance on computers aiding the human mind in achieving its full potential or rather replacing it and hindering our progress? Society has now become dependant on computers. How does this machine affect our youth and learning process? We have invented a machine with a greater, and faster learning capacity as our own. A new generation has risen that have used computers for most of their lives so it is not surprising that they have become highly dependent on the computer. As of now, humans only use less than twenty percent of their brains, and with computers doing most of our work, this number is slowly decreasing.
There has been a long lasting debate in the resent years on whether or not technology has a positive or negative impact on today’s kids. As the years move on, the negative effects have begun to outnumber the positive. The generations previous spent their childhood making forts, fishing, and using their imaginations, contrary to today’s generations who spend their free time texting, playing video games, and watching videos. Damaging effects such as decreases in school performances, addiction to electronics, and lack of brain development have all been linked to the electronic media stimulation. In order to prevent the future generation from following in the current generations footsteps, one must full comprehend just how much technology impacts
Since computers have been invented, so many people everywhere find themselves dependent on computers. Computers are appearing almost about every aspect of our lives, and in most cases, they are making things very easy r for us. Computers permit us to work from home, mingle with our friends and family who live a great distant from us, and they are a great stress relief when we return home from school or work and just want to relieve some stress and have fun. But as we rely on computers more and more to get through the day, the question is still to be asked: are we too dependent on computers?
Almost every child between the ages of eight and twelve are getting cell phones. The average home in America has as many televisions as they do people. Only 20% of American homes do not have a computer. Technology is quickly becoming a new way of life. The amount of time people are on their devices is growing rapidly. According to The Huffington Post, people are on their devices for on average about eleven hours and fifty-two minutes a day. That is almost half a day and a lot longer than most people sleep or work. People have not realized yet how they or their families are being affected by this constant use of technology. As a result of technology increasing, children are experiencing health problems, school issues, and social problems.
From classroom activities to space flight and everything in between, computers are a vital part of daily life. Everything we do and every aspect of our life is affected by modern technology like the computers. Computers let us dissect any sort of data. Computers makes us reflect, hence we develop. Because of computers and the Internet, we can talk with individuals from diverse nations, and even see them via webcam. Computers have their weaknesses like they have a negative effect on individuals' health. One of the risky parts of any machine is the screen. Computers make individuals dependent. Computers are hampering individuals' improvement in regular life. We don't read printed books any longer, since we can listen and read on the web. We invest more of a chance talking online than talking face to face. Overuse of machines has numerous negative impacts, for example, creating physical/behavioral sicknesses, harming family connections and diminishing scholarly study.
“Computers play a key role in almost every sphere of life” (Berry, Terrie). Without them, everything would be different. People all around the world own or used a computer. Whether you are a professional in technology or just an average person, computers are still very important in your everyday life. “No other technology has accessed the world like computers and the use of the Internet have” (Maddox, Amanda). Without computers, consumers would not be able to do half the things as quickly as we can. Advances in computer design have increased its use for different industries, especially in the medical field.
Technology addiction is almost similar to drug addiction. Technology is useful in many ways. Using computer, internet, cellphone, television etc. make peoples’ life easier and comfortable. Young people are the most user of it. They cannot think of a single day without use technical device. Tara Parker-Pope is an author of books on health topics and a columnist for the New York Times. In her article , she expressed that, “The International Center for Media and the Public Agenda at the University of Maryland asked 200 students to refrain from using electronic media for a day. The reports from students after the study suggest that giving up technology cold turkey not only makes life logistically difficult, but also changes our ability to connect with others.” ( Parker-Pope, “An Ugly Toll of Technology: Inpatients”). Her point is that, for the young generation it is quite impossible to give up from becoming addict...
The statement, which says, “depending on computer” has been a controversial issue since it was invented. Some people believe that computer has unpleasant effects on people’s lives, such as destroying social communication, affecting people’s health, and limiting their creativity. On other hand, some people think that computer has presented a lot of benefits on people’s lives. For instance, it has developed education, increased knowledge about the universe, and reduced time working. In my opinion, I believe strongly that a positive side has a right presenting because computer has provided a lot of benefits on our life such as enhancing many ways to develop education, contributing to discover and determine different planets, and making life easier.