Technology Good Or Bad

Imagine a world in which everything was run by computers, a society in which everything revolves around computers and makes everything hands free. This may sound like something that you dream about, but technology is reaching new levels daily. To some people this may sound amazing, but it also strikes fear into many people. A hands free society would make life a lot easier, but what happens when something goes wrong. The technology of computers is growing very rapidly, but at the same time so is our dependency on them. Our society is growing to dependant on computer technology. There are many who do not hold this same view though; many say that the growth of computers and their technology is the best thing to happen to us since the automobile. Many feel that the recent technological trend is for the best. The growth of computer technology is negative due to the fact that society is growing to dependant on computers and this will lead to a disaster in the future.

Computers are becoming very versatile in the households these days, too versatile. Computers are now finding a place in almost everyone part of todays households and are beginning to be able to do many household tasks. Many households are beginning to acquire computers, in fact from the article The PC Platform wrote by Eckhard Pfeiffer, it is said that over 11 million U.S. homes already have two or more working PCs (Pfeiffer 35). This clearly presents the point of how many people are using computers, and the even scarier point is that that number is growing rapidly. Pfeiffer goes on to say how the computer has a distinct use in every room of the house. The uses stated range from making doctor appointments to alerting you when something has been broken in your house.

These uses are very helpful indeed, but what happens when something goes wrong with the computers in your house. There are constant problems with computers today mainly dealing with viruses and software compatibility. What happens when a virus takes over your computers The repercussions could be devastating and cause your family to miss an important doctors appointment or misinform you to what is broken in your house.

There are also computer bots that can so called help filter out unnecessary information. From the article Computing Goes Everywhere, wrote by Robert Buderi, these new bots prevent information overload by filtering e-mail, phone calls and news alerts (Buderi 6). Again this sounds like an extremely useful technological advance, but if something was to go wrong, there is surely the chance of missing important phone calls, e-mails and even crucial weather alerts. These new advances will indeed attract the masses and without doubt increase our societies dependence on computers. This new and upcoming technology all sounds phenomenal, but the fact still remains that many things could and will go wrong. These innovations will surely lead to a disaster for many homeowners.

Technology of computers also adds many new ways for working parents to keep in touch with their children, but at the same time separates parents from their children. Many families now have both parents working days and sometimes nights in order to pay the bills. Also many parents do a lot of traveling for their employer as part of the job. This of course means that these families will have less time together, which means less interaction and attention to their children. Sue Shellenbarger, author of Too Many Gadgets Turn Working Parents into Virtual Parents, says business travelers can dine with their kids by speakerphone (Shellenbarger 39). This sounds wonderful on the surface, but what parents do not realize is that this new innovation is just making it easier for parents to be away from their children. This is not keeping the family together; instead it is pulling the family apart. Shellenbarger also quotes a management newsletter that recommends faxing your child when you have to break a promise to be home (39).

This again is another example of how computer technology is eventually going to brake up happy homes. Another scary thought about computers and their effects on families has to deal with the fact that many women are now looking to the ever-growing World Wide Web. An article from the Internet titled, Moms Using Web to Bring Families Together goes on to state, 88 percent of women rely more and more on the Web for parental guidance and ideas (http://cyberatlas.internet.com 2). This is not a good thing due to the fact that anybody has the right to post his or her views and thoughts on the Internet. This could be devastating, because a parent might think that what they are reading is true and it could end up hurting their children. This trend of families using computers as a parenting device is going to keep growing. This trend will certainly lead to disaster for families.

Economy is also a growing trend in which the computer revolution is partaking in. Peter F. Drucker in his article The Meaning of E-commerce, states that e-commerce changes consumer behavior, savings patterns, industry structure — in short, the entire economy (Drucker 6). Computer technology is steering our society into to a completely new direction, a direction that does not look good. Consumers in rising numbers are looking to the Internet for their material needs and wants. In the article New (d) Economy, by John Benditt, it is said that its a mirror world in which whatever is cool is produced (Benditt 1). There is less attention being put towards essential things. E-commerce is a way to lure consumers in and take advantage of their pocketbook.

And even bigger problem with e-commerce is the lack of human contact. Benditt agrees with this point by saying in his article, in the New Economy there isnt nearly enough attention given to human beings and their needs. Computer technology brought forth e-commerce and it is pulling the rug out from consumers feet and also taking away our societies person-to-person skills. There are many critics that see computer technology in a different light. Many critics feel as thought our future is based solely on computers and their technology. Buderi in his article is in fact very enthusiastic about computer technology.

He states, the ultimate aim is to seamlessly blend the analog human world with all things digital (Buderi 1). There are many like Buderi who fill the same way, that our whole life should become hands free and that our economy should be run from home. Buderi also feels that by carrying computing and communications power with you, or by accessing it through an infrastructure as widespread as electric power is today, you will tap in to this world on your terms and in your language (Buderi, 1). This statement shows how many feel as though computers should become a integral and huge part of our lives, even more so than they are now.

Computer technology is growing very rapidly, but this growth is for the worse. Many people are beginning to depend very heavily on them in the house, for family needs, for shopping and our economy. All of the attributes of this growing technology may sound very promising, but the truth remains that our society will grow to dependant on computers and it will be the downfall of our society.

Works Cited

Benditt, John. New(d) Economy. March. 2001. http://www.techreview.com/magazine/mar01/benditt.asp Buderi, Robert. Computing Goes Everywhere. January/ February. 2001. http://www.techreview.com/magazine/jan01/buderi.asp.

Drucker, F. Peter. The Meaning of E-commerce. October. 1999. http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/99oct/9910drucker2.htm.

Moms Using Web to Bring Families Together. March, 5. 2001. http://cyberatlas.internet.com/big_picture/demographics/article/0,,5901_705131,00.html.

Pfeiffer, Eckhard. The PC Platform. Perspectives: Technology and Society. Ed. Diane Fallon. Chicago: Coursewise, 1999. 35-38.

Shellenbarger, Sue. Too Many Gadgets Turn Working Parents Into Virtual Parent. Perspectives: Technology and Society. Ed. Diane Fallon. Chicago: Coursewise, 1999.

39-40.