The Bad Side of Technology

Sonya Dooley
Mrs. Heringa
English 101-013
4 February 2015
The Bad Side of Technology
Of the many different types of technology, not all of them are positive. Life is much easier today just by the simple use of technology. However, technology is also the cause of many negative things. It affects grammar. School age kids have several different gadgets to text on, such as: smart phones, tablets, and iPads. Typing on something so compact, they are shortening the words and using abbreviations to get their point across. Then, when the students have a paper to write, they have a harder time correctly spelling and using words.
Grammar is not the only negative side to technology. What about children? Children learn how to operate the smartphones and such from older siblings or parents, it is hard for even the young children to concentrate on important things. They also tend to get aggravated or upset when asked to do things, like clean their room, or take out the trash. Often times, technology is more of a distraction for younger people. Instead of reading or doing homework, they are playing their favorite online game or texting their best friend; even while trying to stay focused on something, notifications are going wild, so of course, that gets the mind off of the task at hand. Putting the phone or iPad down seems next to impossible to a young person. Social interactions are more difficult these days since technology has come so far. People interact more through emails and texts than face to face. There may be a slight awkwardness while communicating with someone who doesn’t do well face to face. Things can be misinterpreted through email and text. We don’t always catch on to the tone someone is using while writing.
We at times get sucked into our favorite shows on television, our favorite game, or our favorite app. This interferes with the more important things we should be doing. Whether it be cleaning the house, doing an important homework assignment, even going to bed early on a work day. Later we are paying the consequences of not doing what we should have been doing. The house stays a mess, that homework assignment isn’t as good as it could have been, and being at work sleepy is never a good thing, mistakes could possibly be made, not only mistakes, but accidents could happen if someone is not fully functional.
Many people have lost their income due to modern technology. Robots have replaced humans in the workplace. They are now doing the jobs that used to be done by real people. Production companies have replaced people with robots to increase their production and efficiency. The companies can make more money this way and can serve their customers faster. This is great for the company, but hard for the person who now has no income to support themselves and their family.
The more advanced technology becomes, the more isolated some people become. Isolation can be in a couple of different forms, it could be as simple as being with a group of friend’s, but staying on your phone texting someone else, or checking social media; not paying attention to anyone around you. Or it could be where a person feels lonely or depressed and technology is their only company. Maybe it helps them to not feel alone and makes them happy. Sometimes people may find themselves dependent upon modern technology.
Let’s think about all of the terrible impacts that texting while driving has on someone. A simple text message can destroy a life and a family. Texting and driving doesn’t always result in death, but in some instances it can. Impulse makes it hard for people to ignore a text until they are not driving. It’s almost as though whatever the text says is of much more significance to a person than their own wellbeing and the others around them. Society tends to have this “that won’t ever happen to me” attitude.
Social media can also be dangerous. People can lie about who they really are, they can be whoever they want to be. Just because someone has a profile picture doesn’t always mean it’s real. There are so many ways someone can disguise who they are on the internet. Sexual predators can find their victims from the comfort of their homes. Again, this is another example of when people have the “that won’t ever happen to me” attitude.
The internet is also where people like to bully other people for different reasons. Cyberbullying can cause someone to do something drastic to themselves such as committing suicide. Young, innocent people have fallen victim to other people’s comments or threats and took their own life. It’s outrageous to think about it, but it happens. These victims probably feel as if this is their only way out of the situation.
In conclusion, technology is everywhere. Teachers should stay focused on teaching kids proper grammar, along with the parents putting time limits on gaming and networking. Together, that will keep children on track and help them become more educated. Cell phones, iPads, and tablets should not be allowed to be out during class. Phones should be on silent, vibrating is almost as loud as the ringer. Students would be less distracted this way and could focus more on paying attention in class. Having more face to face interaction with others would help society become more pleasant. Body language wouldn’t be so hard to read and things wouldn’t be so misinterpreted. If something is so important it can’t wait, people should take others into consideration and at least pull over to text. Everyone should always be extra careful of who they are in contact with over the internet or on any device.
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