Technology! The biggest progress or our worst nightmare? Comparing technology to something that is heavily feared to the individual, our nightmares, may seem to be farfetched but the effects of technology are one in the same.  Due to the fact that technology is destroying the mind, body, and soul, I believe that we should limit the individual use of technology and regain control of our lives. Technology was invented to serve as a way to help solve problems and move society forward. "Technology is a body of knowledge devoted to creating tools, processing actions and extracting of materials"(Ramey). Ramey says that we use technology to accomplish various tasks in our daily lives and that everyone has their own way of understanding the meaning of Technology -- and it can go as far as smart televisions and gaming systems to something as simple as a paper clip.  Anything that was invented and has to manufactured is considered a type of technology. 

These technologies have affected us in one way or the another, either positively or negatively. The positive effects consist of speeding up business, increasing efficiency and helping those in need. Although these effects seem to weigh heavily on society, technology has more so affected the individual negatively for the future. I have reason to believe that the individually slowly loses knowledge and necessary life substance such as the ability to communicate thoroughly with others. I'm sure you question how something that seems to be so positive and somewhat of a necessity can be so detrimental to the human body. Overall technology is negatively effecting the individual which is destroying society as a whole. 

Growing up as a Christian, I have heard phrases stating that "technology is the antichrist", suggesting that technology will be humanities down fall. My father once said "why would Apple make their logo a bitten fruit resembling Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit in biblical time". Although there are many myths and stories behind the reason for this bitten apple, I will always have the question in the back of my head of whether or not the bitten fruit is symbolic? Through research I have come to find that technology has acted as an antichrist, destroying mankind slowly but surely. This thought shows that technology negatively affects the individual by destroying the soul. Technology will be the end of us as we know it! 

They always say "too much of anything is not good for you". Living in the day of abundance, where we overproduce technology, it is in fact growing to be too much. In today's society, our youth are the ones that suffer from these technology side effects because they spend the most time playing, watching and reading with and on these various technologies. Pamela DeLoatch, author of "The Four Negative Sides of Technology", states that technology not only effects society, but more importantly effects our youth. DeLoatch states that technology is effecting the way children think, the way children feel, privacy and safety risks, and lack of physical activity leading to obesity.  Technology has the ability to alter the wiring of the brain, effecting a child's ability to empathize, understand or share the feelings of another. Since a surplus of our information is on the internet, technology can expose people to dangerous safety and privacy risks.  In addition to that, technology can draw children from physical activities increasing the chance of obesity. Technology hinders many children in the long run, taking away various opportunities. I would hate to handicap my child before their live begins. As a society, we should take initiative and propel the future. 

On another note, technology isn't all bad for society. Technology is a need for survival. Technology isn't just for the luxury use or for the convenience but some need it for hearing, seeing, and more importantly living (Meghan). Technology has given those with disabilities another equal chance at life. Laws make sure that those in need of help have access to these technologies. Those with disabilities should not be denied access to any technologies that give them equal opportunity. Technology gives everyone a chance, and for some, a second chance. 

Technology effects the individual.  "Technology makes my life easier and more enjoyable" (Moradi). Throughout the article, many people state that technology has made life more convenient for them. Everything they do involves some type of technology. In the article, one of the individuals that was interviewed describes the shift from task to task by stating "another form of technology is about to take over my life". Essentially, every time we focus in on using technology, it does take over our life for the moment.  What would we do without alarm clocks, refrigerators, televisions and computers? We rely heavily on technology. As we have become technology dependent, it has become a simple everyday necessity. 

Although technology may be an everyday necessity, the overuse of it can outweigh its positive purpose. Viewpoint, an online news page, writes an article, "When is Too Much? The Negative Effects of Technology" where they state that although technology is beneficial to our world, the negative effects it has on us need to be addressed. The article states that social interaction is a fundamental human need and technology is serving as a distraction. Many models, studies and theories show how technology is a distraction but unfortunately our interactions today mainly occur online which is ultimately harming society. Technology also has an increasing effect on our health. The article states that our society has converted to an inactive lifestyle becoming lazy by following the monotonous daily routine of working, eating, watching television and sleeping. Also, technology has affected our nation's health by increasing pollution. Research shows that from age's five to twelve, children have had a decrease in lung function following the exposure to air pollutions. There again we see how everyone is affected by technology (negatively, that is), whether it's concerning youth being exposed to air pollutions to everyone not being able to hold a conversation with others anymore, we are being affected -- and the lack of acknowledgment is becoming more than harmful, and nothing short of dangerous. Since we all are affected by this we all should work together attempting to resolve this tragedy. 

For every action there is a reaction. Everything, even the slightest things that we do has some sort of cost. Everything may not have a large cost, but technology costs. In the article "The Real Cost of Technology" Marc Compeau describes this cost as a distraction. During the good old times we used to go to the newsstand, pick movies to watch with family and go to drive-in movies. But today we rely on technology to provide the latest news and movies. While we used to do all these things we also conversed with others, building profitable relationships but that sense of conversation has become obsolete. Relationships are necessities to our lives. Compeau ends saying that we need technology but technology can't provide us with these relationships that we personally need to survive as humans.

Would you be able to function without search engines or the internet as a whole? One of the most used and important sources of technology is the internet. The internet is a daily used global computer network that doesn't only help us but also harms us. In the article "5 Amazing Things Internet May Have Ruined", Michael Poh says that the internet has helped us connect with the world, but it also has come with a price tag. This price tag rings up with the cost of privacy, reliability of information, copyrights, genuine communication, and work life balance. Our dependence on the internet has revealed some of ourselves and personal information to the public because of the lack of privacy. Thus compromising our personal privacy, leaving us open to be more likely be stalked or followed. The internet today has many blogs and websites that are low cost where anyone can publish no matter the credibility. This convenience leaves society with the question of how reliable the information that is used in our daily lives is. The internet has allowed for information to be lifted from other sites and used on multiple different sites. Today, the use of email, chat, and messenger are in effect, taking away the interaction of genuine communication; our society has lost the quality of communication. The time spent on the internet has blurred between work time and our personal time. Our daily life and work life have been tied together into the widely used internet. The internet has affected our society in more ways than are seen. Poh ends his argument by saying that although the internet has negatively ruined our society, the internet can never end our sense of creativity. Creativity is the reason for the artists, designers, authors, etc. Creativity makes us who we are. Technology will never make you think the way you do and do the things you do that make you so great. Be creative, staying true to yourself.

The moral cost of technology is of utmost importance. In the article "What Is Morally Salient about Enhancement Technologies", we can see how important these effects are. Our society argues that the concept of what is morally salient about human enhancement can't be argued without knowing how technology effects humans. Moral reasoning shows how we are effaced and offers practical reasons on how to resolve the problems presented by the effects. HET, technologies that enhance human capacities, make situations that appeal to both sides of the argument. Arguments state that technology has altered human behavior. Opposition states that there is something intrinsically valuable about human nature. The article concludes saying that enhancement technologies are morally salient in several respects that not all enhancement technologies share all those morally salient respects, and that continuities with traditional technologies may be found in all morally salient respects. What exactly does this mean? The effects of technology are important and we need to find them and improve on them.  

What role does technology play in your life? A commuter college campus take the initiative to ask students about their involvement with technology. The article "Technology's Role in Learning at a Commuter Campus: The Student Perspective" is a case study that shows how technology is used on the college campus. Data showed that 94% of students believed that technology had the potential to benefit learning and 85% thought it was central to their academic success. Also through the study, it was found that students said that technology enhanced courses increased their classes in general by providing more effective communication with instructors, giving the ability to better manage course activities and expand work practice opportunities. Technology has provided opportunity for those throughout college, but it also has caused many to rely heavily on its use for cheating their way through education. Some students today feel as if google gives them the answer, then what is the purpose of learning and studying the material. By doing this, students hurt themselves when getting a job and practicing what they should have learned. Technology effects the workplace by infecting the individuals that take on the jobs. 

Technology enhancements have impacted and shaped our workplace practices and research topics. Blacksmith and Poeppelman suggest that technology and social media in the workplace has brought both positive effects such as improvement in efficiency and cost savings as well as negative effects including the introduction of new legal, ethical, and validity concerns. A study was taken to test these outcomes and in conclusion they found that the "HR technology renaissance" is not only changing how organizations manage their human capital, but there is a growing understanding among the community that to truly understand and measure this rapid technological change. 

Technology has been around since the dawn of time (or at least as far as our generation is concerned). The most known forms of technology today are cell phones and computers. In the article "Negative effects of Technolgy on Kids", Taylor Bunn asks where you would be without technology. Studies have shown that kids are smarter and more successful with the use of less technology. Technology serves as a distraction and an addiction. A list of statistics show how technology is negatively affecting our youth. We all can relate to seeing our children and siblings always asking to use your phone or sitting directly in front of the television in a daze, where technology is consuming their youth.  She suggests that the younger generation should not be exposed to television and other technologies that hinder children in their futures. She then states that cameras are the only type of modern day technology that isn't negatively affecting us because it increases our interaction with the world. 

Our daily lives have become filled with advancements and technologies. In the article "Digital Divide And Beyond: What Do We Know Of Information And Communications Technology's Long-Term Social Effects? Some Uncomfortable Questions", Nieminen suggests that as the advancements have occurred, there has come a list of questions that we have not stopped to think about. These questions include Can digital Information and Communications Technology still be regulated nationally? How do we measure the effects of Information and Communication Technology on academic work? How should we think critically about big data? Has digital Information and Communications Technology improved our lives? There are long term effects that have come from these advancements. A study was then taken to seek solutions to these questions and it was concluded that rather than equalization, these advancement tend to reinforce social inequality and lead to the formation of disadvantaged and excluded individuals.

As an attempt to resolve this crisis, we should all in one way another change the way we use technology. DeLoatch offers a great resolution at the end of her article where she states that we should monitor the use of technology, teaching responsible usage, being familiar with technology, using classroom technology intentionally and offering alternatives to the technology. Each day we are slowly letting technology take the place of the tasks that we used to love to do, such as solving simple math problems. If we keep building technology to replace what we do, then what will be the need for humanity after all?  Are we surging toward a world where technology rules and humanity seizes to exist? As shown in the short story "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury, a world with only technology would seize to exist due to system failure and malfunction. As we need technology, technology also needs us. We should only use technology when we need it rather then that being the first thing we go to. 

Every source of technology affects us in some sort. It can be concluded that technology is a necessity to life but too much technology is detrimentally and destroying our society. Technology effects both mind, body, and soul. It serves as a distracter to others, work, and more importantly life. As a society we have gained a little but lost so much substance in life. Without technology, we all would be lost. As technology is growing, we all should also grow as people, learning how to function without technology or at least know basic skills that we rely on technology to do for us. With that being said, I want to leave you with the instructional choice to put down the phone, turn off the television and open up your personal book of life.

