Technology and Us: How the Impact of Technology has Changed Society
Has technology made us better or worse? Only 42% of Americans would say that technology has improved our lives over the last 50 years.
The impact of technology has reached every part of our society, from how we bank to how we communicate. What are the technological impacts of society and are we better because of technology?
Keep reading to find out the startling ways technology has impacted our society.
1. Technology and Communication
The biggest change in our society is how we communicate. We all carry smartphones but we seem to rarely use the phone part. Texting, messaging, and video calls have taken over.
This massive change to short forms of communication has impacted political discourse and our elections. It’s become much easier to influence the electorate with misinformation and people are more willing to argue online rather than have a real conversation about a topic.
2. Technology and Learning
Technology has changed the way we learn, thanks to increases in computer and tablet usage. Classes are increasingly held online, where students can learn at their convenience.
Jasdeep Singh says that these changes in learning have democratized information. Yet, teachers are expected to be on call 24/7 to answer parent questions and provide instant results to parents and students.
3. Technology and Work
Technology has definitely blurred the lines between work and personal lives over the years. When Facebook started to reach critical mass, employers started to look at social media profiles to decide if they wanted to hire that candidate or not.
Technology has also blurred the boundary between work and play. It’s almost expected that a working vacation is your vacation. Employees are expected to be on-call and businesses are expected to answer customer questions immediately.
On the positive side, technology has made it possible for more people to start a business with little investment. People have the chance to build a career as a freelancer or contractor, which gives them more freedom. Furthermore, technology makes it possible for people to automate tasks in order to focus on growing their business. For example, businesses can use robocall software to connect with customers in bulk rather than manually having to dial a list of phone numbers one by one. Sending out hundreds to thousands of calls would usually take many hours, if not days, when being sent manually – robocalling helps speed up that process and gets your message out in seconds.
4. Technology and Play
The way we play and entertain ourselves has changed with technology. Beginning with Napster, the music industry had to shift to respond to consumers wanting to download music instead of buying albums or CDs. That accelerated with the iPod.
Some studies say that we spend more time streaming videos than spending quality time with the family.
5. Technology and Our Emotional State
It’s hard to look at social media and see anything positive in the world. Many point to social media and technology usage as one cause of increased anxiety and depression in adults and teens.
Technology has also become an addiction. It can impact the brain like any addictive substance, like drugs or sugar.
The Incredible Impact of Technology
Has technology made us better or worse? It’s debatable, but there is no doubt that technology has changed our lives.
There is a lot that we know about the impact of technology because we see evidence of it every day. We don’t know the long-term effects on our health and political systems for years to come.
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