Technology is Bad for Us Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Technology is Bad for Us - Essay Example These are only a small fraction of the numerous reasons why technology has been considerably harmful to the lives and wellbeing of the people whom it affects. While it has had a reasonable number of positive effects on the lives of these people also, it seems that if health and the emotional wellbeing of people are priorities for a society, the negative effects outweigh the positive effects. One major reason, which is widely accepted throughout every part of the world, is that the increasing technology is affecting the health of people negatively. This is a fact, which has a significant impact on any country or city, where the people experience a significant influence of technology in their everyday lives. This occurs mainly because technology offers people several alternatives to physical exertion. The people, whose ancestors used to walk for miles to get from any location to the next, have the luxury to drive themselves. This ease has facilitated their lives so much that they hesit ate to distances, which require ten-minute walk. Even these ten minutes seem a lot to spare to someone who is living in the fast-moving world of today, a world, which has speeded up immensely due to the rise of technological advancement. Nevertheless, even those people who do not work under the pressure of deadlines and time constraints choose to take this shortcut to travelling, simply because it is the easier, more convenient option. This has led to a very serious problem amongst the people of today, which is obesity and high cholesterol, each of which are avoidable only if one is in the habit of physically exerting themselves daily, whether by exercise, sports or simply walking the distances they need to travel (Kates, Hohenesmer and Kasperson, pp. 402-460). The obesity one sees in the developed countries today is something, which was not so common just a few decades ago. This in itself is proof that technology has had an adverse effect on the wellbeing of people. There are also several other aspects of technology today, which encourage people to choose convenience over hard work, simply due to the ease with which the relevant technology is available. An example of this phenomenon is how people choose to send emails, text messages and call people rather than going to visit them or using a slightly less convenient method of communication, such as writing a letter. This, on the surface of it, is a large advantage of technology, as it is an example of the several ways in which technology makes our lives more efficient and speedy. However, people pay a large price in terms of the negative effect this has on the relationships between people. There was once a time when one would make an effort to meet their family occasionally, if living separately, in order to maintain the relationship, and embellish the bond that exists between them. This has, however, been dismissed from the list of priorities as people have learned to replace a heartfelt meeting with a twenty -minute phone call. The level of intimacy in the interactions has decreased due to this reason, as people do not value meeting in person as much as they used to. Friends, who would keep in touch by meeting occasionally and catching up with each other, are now content with exchanging a few words through text message or Facebook wall posts. One can compare this substitute for live meetings to substituting fresh vegetables for canned food. While the content of both the meetings and the text messages