Smartphones, huge wi-fi coverage, chips and even advancements in nanotechnology. These are just some technological marvels that are or in the third and fourth cases will conceivably soon be part of our everyday lives. The growth sites like facebook and twitter have met in the last years is astonishing as well. It would appear that almost nothing can go by unnoticed. However, is this good or bad?
How do you feel about it? Do you often feel like you cannot hide? Have you ever considered not using the internet for some time and if so, what was it like? Have you tried it? Do you think technology is beginning to replace major parts of our lives?
We are all slaves to technology. I work as an IT guy. When someone's computer breaks, they are crippled. They can't work at all. We are definitely very dependant on tech and the internet. As far as internet privacy, it's an illusion. People think that their facebook and such is private just because they select a few options, but it's been shown that it's very easy to hack. I can get into someone's profile just by social engineering alone. You hear all the time on the news that companies get hacked and credit card numbers and bank accounts are exposed. I Just had to replace my card today because of that. And yes, it already has replaced major parts of our lives. I think something like 70-80% of all media is consumed through the internet now, probably higher. email is taking the place of snail mail. They even have 3D printers that can print organs from stem cells now.
Technology is good and bad, because now people can acses ore informatins and can connect to everyone. Well because o technology we are posting this. But people lost their privacy because of technology. SO like almost all technology is grey: not just black and not just white.
@thepyro222 I agree. We are overly dependent on the internet and on our phones. While a technological advancement such as the ability to "print" organs is marvellous, there is no doubt that our society is almost "consumed" by technology today.
@WHDH Of course technology can be described as "grey". However, the use of it causes many problems in a lot of day-to-day life's aspects. For example there is no doubt that human contact and our social lives have suffered because of it. "Upvotes" of what we post dictate what we post and, eventually, what we say. This generation (which I am part of, as well) doesn't use the doorbell. I've seen people my age simply "text" to say that they are at the front door and wait until it's open.
Such overuse of technology becomes eventually a flaw of our society. Hanging out with friends now means the friends who are online, not those who are there, with you, enjoying their drink, and talking with you. Simply because, they themselves follow the example you've set. Being online in the social media, conversing with people who are not with them, instead of laughing and replying to what you say.
While the use of digital technologies in school is growing and certainly benefitting students to a point, many parents buy their small toddlers pads and other electronic gadgets. I see this very critically, and I'm almost certain it has been evidenced to be detrimental to some degree, most likely in the developmental area. For example, bad eye-sight is a growing issue. There are other impacts on health not only on small children. The more young people use their smartphone with fb and twitter etc., the more they're prone to have depressions. On one side, always seeing the better/selected photos posted by their friends makes them feel - I don't know - ugly, lonely, whatever. On the other side, the additional time they spend in front of their small screen in the evening is not good. Social media keeps them busy long into the night, and the bright screen light is known to affect your hormonal clock; ideally, you should stop using smartphones or the computer 1-1.5 hours before going to sleep. Lack of sleep has been demonstrated to impact health; it increases the risks for depression and obesity.
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The thing that worries me most concerning the future development and implementation of new technologies in everyday life are smart objects. The internet of things takes over more and more duties, and while it can be beneficial in some areas, it also makes people more dependent on their phone. I sometimes worry that we will have to think less and less and end up being smartphone zombies :P
@HahiHa I agree. A part of me dies every time I see my young cousin (11 years old) not getting her eyes out of the iPad screen. She is there all the time. While she obviously doesn't have a facebook account, she keeps playing Minecraft the entirety of her free time.
Yes she always meets her friends and has fun with them properly (even at school) but don't you think it is detrimental for her? And for every other kid her age, or younger that goes through the same?
I suppose you too have some experience with massive smartphone usage with some people you know. Maybe when you are going out, and they don't even pay attention to what you say (this usually happens when you are in a group) because they are busy talking to other "Friends" online.
Sometimes I feel well that I had a childhood before technology took over. I don't know if any of you feels the same.
@doombread I agree with you, In society today, parents are working so much that they're spending less time with their kids, which means that they're going to buy them more video games and tablets and stuff, which means the kids won't want to go out and play or do any of the things that I did in my childhood. When I grew up (born in 92) I had a sega genesis. While I played it, my parents limited my play time on the system, so I got like an hour or so of video game time, then I went out and played with friends.
Ultimately it is the responsibility of the parents to limit the time kids spend on their iPads/video games/phones/ etc. and actually spend time with the kid.
back when i was growing up there was absolutely no one who lived around me and i lived at the house alone. .without technology i wouldve probably been bored for hours on in, and being lonely kinda sucked. I can personally say this is my entire lifestyle, stay inside play video games on xbox and ps3, message friends from school and my girlfriend of course. then i just sit about playing video games. personally i prefer this to going outside and "doing something". no im not obese from this, thank you metabolism . anyway the dark side is that if internet or power goes out then im just outflat bored and thats why i bought a nintendo 3DS, to still keep me playing some game. i feel outright proud that i play video games as my hobby, and still do my work that is.
*EDIT o and um drones can become dangerous and privacy destroyed and stuff that youve heard before
@231terminator actually, this is not exactly on topic. Yes I know what you are saying, in fact, up until about 5 months ago I was sitting in front of a computer more than 10 hours a day (the days I had 10 hours of free time of course!).
But really I am talking about a wider social effect. Not just playing. Anti-social behavior is all the more common in kids and adults. It is much easier for someone to hack you and gain sensitive personal information too.
Have you ever tried not playing any videogame for a week? If so, what was it like?
I know what I share, I know where I share it, and I know I can make aliases. It all comes down to wether you are lazy and dumb, or know what you are doing.
It comes down to personal responsibilities.
Yes, I "tried" not using the net. It was disasterous. You are cut from the informations of all humanity. You must rely on sluggishly slow procedures, which are many times much more expensive too. You are cut off possibilities you otherwise have.
Yes, "technology" (the internet and stuff) became hugh part of our everyday life. So what? Start destroying those steam-engines like it'd reach anything?
The threat I see is the easy addiction to it. The internet can become the Star Trek's holodeck: virtual friends, virtual life, no RL-contact, no sex, no nothing. Things can turn to The Orchid Cage.
But otherwise? I am, and will be a technocrat.
PS: another topic is the moderation-issues, what has nothing to do with the time-to-time arising Internet Law of Neutrality, but harshly effects net-neutrality.
Most times moderators/site owners know bloody nothing about moderation, and turns pages unusable and/or untrustable. Wikipedia. Armorgames. And so on.
The threat I see is the easy addiction to it. The internet can become the Star Trek's holodeck: virtual friends, virtual life, no RL-contact, no sex, no nothing. Things can turn to The Orchid Cage.
@twillight2 I agree with you when it comes to a personal level but things aren't always in our hands. So yeah, you must have responsibilities but not everything comes down to this.
PS: another topic is the moderation-issues, what has nothing to do with the time-to-time arising Internet Law of Neutrality, but harshly effects net-neutrality.
Most times moderators/site owners know bloody nothing about moderation, and turns pages unusable and/or untrustable. Wikipedia. Armorgames. And so on.
But this is off-topic so it shouldn't be discussed here.
I know what I share, I know where I share it, and I know I can make aliases. It all comes down to wether you are lazy and dumb, or know what you are doing.
It comes down to personal responsibilities.
I agree that we have a personal responsibility about the things we share. But providers of apps and other such services all too often hide as much as possible the amount of information they take from you, and what rights they demand for the use of their products. They know very well that nobody reads and completely understands the terms and conditions, and they're purposefully nontransparent about it; and this is a problem.
Yes, I "tried" not using the net. It was disasterous. You are cut from the informations of all humanity.
Around here, we still have newspapers (low and high quality ones ^^).
They know very well that nobody reads and completely understands the terms and conditions, and they're purposefully nontransparent about it; and this is a problem.
The problem as I said is with people being lazy.
I myself DO READ the terms&conditions, and are educated enough to be able to understand what is written down.
Being lazy and ignorant doesn't make the companies evil. It only makey YOU dumb and voulnerable.
Around here, we still have newspapers (low and high quality ones ^^).
And show me the newspaper which tells me what a hoppip is.
Also tell me how much you payed for all the newspapers. Because with net, I have access too all informations in all (past and present) newspapers at the same time for the 10$ monthly fee. Witha search-subrutine.
Being lazy and ignorant doesn't make the companies evil. It only makey YOU dumb and voulnerable.
Evil, not. Greedy and oblivious of one's private sphere, yes. Being vulnerable is no excuse for companies exploiting that very vulnerability.
And show me the newspaper which tells me what a hoppip is.
Show me how not knowing what a hoppip is, in your words, "disastrous".
Also tell me how much you payed for all the newspapers. Because with net, I have access too all informations in all (past and present) newspapers at the same time for the 10$ monthly fee. Witha search-subrutine.
Ah, but that is another topic altogether. The point was that you are not cut off from information. I am by no means implying that internet news is bad, not at all. I am simply correcting your false statement that no internet means no information.
@Doombreed ive tried doing it but once again was bored and i just watched movies or something. made no sense to get rid of a hobby,however yes i believe that technology can be harmful for people if overused, especially at young ages
@231terminator it's not only about overusing technology. Things get out of our hands anyway. Like I posted before, it is very easy to be a victim of an internet crime nowadays, even if you don't go over hte top with technology use.
Also, I know it would seem weird to me if I was not capable of staying away from the internet or any computer for that matter.
Like HahiHa also pointed out, there is also the ethical part of military technology. How do you feel about it?
