Effects of Technology

So often these days we hear and speak of the conquest of nature, the taming of a river, the war against insects and so on. Often these phrases are used without consciously attaching any value to them, but they have underlying them an attitude of hostility towards Nature & its creatures, a viewpoint which seems to assume nature as an enemy that needs to be vanquished. Alternatively, nature is seen merely as a resource to be exploited to take the maximum out of it, regardless of what this does to natural processes & to other creatures which depend on these processes. It is this attitude which sees fellow humans too as a resource to be exploited or other human communities as enemies to be conquered. Well, most of this destruction of nature is mainly because of the fast-running human mind and the more rapidly increasing advancements in the modern day technology. Science and its inventions over the centuries have made life easier & enjoyable. Its application has proved to be a blessing in more ways than one. The first significant advancement in technology was the invention of fire around 1 million years ago, this enabled humans to cook food, and create other items such as spears and utensils. Technology now has improved sharply, and with TVs, MP3s, Computers etc., our way of life has changed. We have become the people of modern ideas and innovations & this shows our stinking richness. With the introduction of Mp3s, TVs and computers, life for humans have become easier but also lazier. Obesity in children is at peak levels in India, United States, etc. Kids are preferring to stay at home and play computer games rather than going out and socializing like they used to. Quite simply kids are losing their social life, getting fatter and are having low academic achievements all because of their addictive games on Xboxes, Play Stations etc. But not only the children, it has also affected lives of adults.Cell phones can cause brain tumors and computers cause problems with your hands and fingers, and posture. So is technology really helping us? Are the pros outweighing the cons. Should we take the risks? We have probably heard that listening to music at high volume levels from iPod can damage our hearing capability but have we cared how other gadgets are also causing damage to our overall health? Cell phones, microwave ovens and even the little Bluetooth device that we have attached to our ear causes radiation that might cause harm to our natural health. Technology has helped the nature as well, as it helps us to determine when disaster is going to struck, also when earth will vanish and many other theories, but Technology is necessary but not always a positive influence in modern life. This issue has especially come into vogue in the last decade due to the mind-boggling pace of technology. Technology has really been very hazardous to the environment as well. The modern world gadgets use technology of radiations and other harmful rays that have immense affect on the environment. They imbalance all the processes in turn causing a great affect on the entire living world and also the eco-cycle. Now, coming to geosciences. It has largely affected the earth and the environment as it involves digging up of the earth to extract various resources of ones daily need. This in turn has led to over-exploitation of the resources all around the world. These resources take millions of years to be converted from the fossil fuels, organic matter. But due to extreme usage of them they are getting depleted. Technology, when misused, poisons air, soil, water and lives. But a world without technology would be prey to something worse: the impersonal ruthlessness of the natural order, in which the health of a species depends on relentless sacrifice of the weak. The fastest growing network of Google is not too far away from this destructive activity. The search engine which has won the hearts of many with its speed has created various problems as well. The problem lies in the way Google works. Using a search engine generates CO2 emissions because the search request goes to more than one server that can be thousands of miles apart. Google have servers in the US, Europe, Japan and China. According to a recent study reveals that doing a Google search can emit anywhere between 1 and 10g of CO2 depending on whether or not the computer had to be switched on.

Thus the need of the hour is to adhere to more environmentally friendly practices such as switching to fluorescent bulbs and driving electric cars which is referred to as Going Green. Recycling material goods, using alternative energies and buying local goods are all components of the Green lifestyle. Nowadays, jute & paper bags are encouraged rather than plastic bags to carry various materials. Green Games (Commonwealth Games) will also be held in India & their motto would be to reduce environmental degradation. The purpose of this overhaul of lifestyle is to heal the environment of the damage that has been done to it by human existence. A noble cause indeed, but one that could possibly have negative side effects. So are we going to stop using Google for our searches? Technology will inevitably continue to grow, but we have to ask Is technology doing more harm than good? Mayank Gupta

Effects of Technology
"TECHNOLOGY" - this word is derived from Greek word "technology",--techno--> an art,skill or craft and --loggia-->the study of something or branch of knowledge of a discipline. Famous Poet Thoreau once said 'improved means to an unimproved end'. There is no escape from technology.In most cases this is not a problem though. Many people respect and admire technology because it is there to benefit them.Without the technological advances we have had over the years, the world would not be what it is today. With the advancement in technology,human life is more comfortable like never before.There is almost no place that you can go where technology hasnt been used.Technology affects our daily lives in everything that we do; it saves time(time is money-more so these days),creates a world of endless learning and makes travelling to halfway around the world effortless. Technology has effected in almost every single respect one can think of, be it communication,entertainment,studies,industrialisation,food industry,social efforts,business,education,comfort,luxury,efficiency etc. are to name a few in good ways one thinks. What people dont understand is that technology can actually be a bad thing. Technology has helped increase the speed of communication and decrease its cost.However,at the same time it has caused people to become more impersonal with each other.In earlier times the major form of communication was for people to visit each other and go to public meeting places.One of the next major advances was the telephone.Due to the telephone people no longer went to the public meeting places as often as they used to.As time goes on,new advances still allow people to contact and communicate with each other more easily.These advances such as facsimile,beepers and email,although seemingly making life easier,each help to decrease the earlier forms of communication.In some businesses email is the main way of communication because its quick,they have record of the conversation. Technology is building bridges between people on opposite sides of the globe, but it is also building ever stronger walls between neighbours. Some people are surrounding themselves with modern technology while paying little attention to the needs of others. Others use technology to better understand their fellow man to overcome physical distance,establishing relationships of solidarity and sympathy around the globe. We could discover the effect of technology to our daily food.Fast food for instance,food can be known as the best companion for those students or working adult who are fighting for time.But the food which is processed through machines will bring a negative effect to our daily life.For example, obesity which causes mainly from the fast food or high calories consumptions in those processes food. Whether driving a car, planting a bomb, sending a spam E-mail or signing a contract, technology extends our realm of influence. An unfortunate dynamic of modern technology is that it often works through competition;many technologies benefit early adopters at the expense of non-adopters.Ancient man must have been satisfied when he learnt how to kill mammoths by driving them over

precipices.This seemed to offer great benefits - until everyone else adopted the technology, driving the mammoths to extinction. In society today, people are looking for more and more ways to be entertained, and all it is doing is causing problems.People are doing less and less thinking and more and more watching, listening, and playing, all because of technology. Forms of entertainment like the Internet, television and even video games seem harmless to people, but they are really not.When the Internet was first introduced, people never thought it would be as big as it is today.The Internet is an easy to use technology that can do just about anything.But what people dont understand is that the Internet is not all good.Much of the information posted on sites on the Internet is merely opinions,not factual information.When people look at this information, it looks and seems like trustful information, but most of the time, it is not. Although the Internet is a relatively new technology,television has been around for about fifty years.There are many problems with television though, mainly with the content of the shows. Many of the shows on television portray violence, drugs, sexual activity, and profanity. People who watch these shows see what the actors and actresses are doing and then feel it is all right for them to do the same things. Instead of "Ready, Aim, Fire," people tend to, "Fire, Aim, Ready." In other words, people tend to implement the latest technology before they understand precisely what it is or what business need it serves. Perhaps the biggest difference between the 20Th century and the 21st is how technology has changed the pace of our lives.We now expect to communicate with anyone on the planet in seconds,not days.We expect information at our fingertips; to be up and walking shortly after a surgery or an operation.Basically,we take a lot for granted.But this freaky pace has also altered how we conduct business and live our lives.To illustrate,we want to solve problems immediately and have no patience for long term solutions.Consequently,we tend to attack symptoms as opposed to addressing true problems and apply Band-Aids to pacify the moment as opposed to tourniquets which are actually needed.We are easily satisfied with solving small problems as opposed to conquering major challenges.We tend to live for today, as opposed to planning for tomorrow. This mindset is not what it should be. What if someone pulled the plug on our technology?Would engineers still know how to draft products?Would we still know how to ship a product or process an order?Would our financial transactions come to a halt?Would business come to a standstill? The answer, unfortunately, is Yes.This highlights the over dependency we have developed on our technology and is cause for alarm.We are being driven by technology as opposed to the other way around.By unplugging our technology, we are unplugging the human-being. Because of the domination of technology, people have allowed their socialisation skills to slip. Small things, such as common courtesy, appearance, and our ability to network with others, have all deteriorated in the workplace. We may be effective in communicating electronically, but we are becoming complete failures in communicating socially.If we cannot communicate effectively in this capacity,no amount of technology will be able to alter the perceptions of our co-workers, our managers, our customers, our vendors, or our friends and family. As the use of technology increases, social skills decreases. Life has great effect of technology.There is not any specific effect on life,it depends on how the technology is being used.If we use the technology in destructive way then it is the most harmful way for human life.And if we use for welfare of people then it can prove as boon to man kind.According to me technology is endless field of creations and inventions. Virinder Gupta