Technology in Todays World

In today’s world technology can be considered both very beneficial to society as well as harmful. Technology can be anywhere from helpful to hurtful, from keeping one informed about the world, advancements in the medical field, and keeping in touch with friends and family to obesity, cyberbullying, and laziness. It is a part of our daily lives from the alarms we set in the morning to watching television with our families at the end of a long day. Technology can be very beneficial in the fact that our advancements in it have made things a great deal easier than they would have been many years ago. It allows us to keep in contact with people that we do not get to see every day or that live far away. I have a close friend, in the Air Force, who is stationed in Japan for at least four years and because of technology we can keep in touch all the time, whereas we would not be able to without it. Thanks to technology we have satellite TVs and radios, which helps in keeping people informed on what is going on in the world. Just by turning on the television one can see the presidential debate, catch a movie, or see what the temperature will be like. Because of this advancement families can now sit down and enjoy a movie together when it is convenient. Society has also advanced through medical technology, with which we can use to keep ourselves healthy and alive. Because of our advancements someone who has cancer, or any chronic pain or disease, can live longer than they might without it. [Ethos] Although technology has been great with advancing the world forward, it has some major negative effects on the world such as obesity and laziness. People no longer feel the need to go out of the house to do things. Children of today’s generation are facing the growing problem of obesity because all they want to do is sit and play games, they do not have the desire to go out and get exercise. “According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), obesity rates in children under 12 rose from about 15 percent in 1999, to nearly 19 percent in 2004, with a projected 20 percent rate in 2010. The HHS study on childhood obesity defined it as at or above the 95th percentile, according to gender, on the Body Mass Index (BMI) scale” (Banks). Most people would agree that technology has made us a lazy society today because of all the possibilities it offers. When it comes to the internet most would ask why read a book when you can just spark note it and get everything you need to know? Or why spend the time trying to find a reliable source? Dennis Baron stated that “for students, and increasingly for the rest of us as well, it seems that reliable sources are less important than finding information in nanoseconds” (Baron). Society today does not care enough about making sure things are credible, they just want to get it done then and there, as fast as they possibly can. [Logos]
Lastly one of the most common negative effects of technology is focus around the younger generation in a form called cyberbulling. Cyberbullying gives people a false since of security allowing them to do or say things that normally they would never consider, because of the fact that through the computer there is no facial confrontation. For instance, several weeks ago my Facebook page was hacked into, this allowed someone to go into my account and send rude and hurtful messages to my contacts, making it seem as if I was the one sending them. This is only a minor case of cyberbullying but it has been worse for many other victims causing major depression and anxiety, sometimes even suicide. Technology has made this all possible with just the click of a button. According to a survey done in 2007 by a cyberbullying research center, of approximately 2,000 middle school students, when asked if they had been “cyberbullied” in their entire lives, 17.3% said “yes.” A similar proportion (17.6%) admitted to cyberbullying others at some point in their lifetime. Finally, 12% of the sample reported being both a victim and a bully. This is an alarming statistic that is constantly growing as time passes, and technology is only helping to further this problem. [Pathos and Logos]
In theory technology has both positive and negative aspects on today’s society. Each person has their own views on the good and bad with no one being wrong. As a society it is important to consider each aspect and try to use technology for the positive benefits it has. If we allow this then we can shape technology into something better. So in turn technology has many negative points but it is necessary for the growth of society.

Works Cited
Banks, K 'Lee. "Child Obesity Due to the Popularity of Game Systems." LIVESTRONG.COM. Livestrong.com, 21 Apr. 2010. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/110283-child-obesity-due-popularity-game/>.
Baron, Dennis. "Wikipedia: Write First, Ask Questions Later." The Reader. 2nd ed. New York: James C. McDonald, 2012. Print.
Hinduja, Sameer, and Justin W. Patchin. "Cyberbulling Fact Sheet." Cyberbulling.us. Cyberbullying Research Center, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2012. <http://www.cyberbullying.us/cyberbullying_fact_sheet.pdf>.

Cited: Banks, K 'Lee. "Child Obesity Due to the Popularity of Game Systems." LIVESTRONG.COM. Livestrong.com, 21 Apr. 2010. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. &lt;http://www.livestrong.com/article/110283-child-obesity-due-popularity-game/&gt;. Baron, Dennis. "Wikipedia: Write First, Ask Questions Later." The Reader. 2nd ed. New York: James C. McDonald, 2012. Print. Hinduja, Sameer, and Justin W. Patchin. "Cyberbulling Fact Sheet." Cyberbulling.us. Cyberbullying Research Center, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2012. &lt;http://www.cyberbullying.us/cyberbullying_fact_sheet.pdf&gt;.