Technology; Angel vs Devil Narrative

For the betterment of the 20^th and 21^st centuries, technology has evolved and become part of human life. Every single day, technology plays an active role in the lives of humans from the use of personal computers to tablets, phones, calculators, and some advanced-level equipment that aids in the field of medicine, science, and education.

With the ever-evolving level of technology being used in our societies, we can confidently say that, the human race has come a long way but with all these advantages, does technology have its downsides? Technology has proven from time immemorial that it has come to stay but with its consistent morphing nature, can we conclude that it is all rainbows and sunshine?

Technology, as we all know is neutral, but it can as well be beneficial and detrimental. With its encouraging positive impacts on society, technology also has some drawbacks ranging from not-so-good ones to bad ones depending on the way we use it. In this article, we shall analyze both the positive and negative aspects of the use of technology in our society.

Over the past two to three decades, technology has proven to be useful by making our lives easier and more comfortable. From connecting with people across the globe from the comfort of your home to running a full-fledged business without a physical space, technology has affected our lives positively in several ways (Romans, 2022). With the emergence of new technological advancements and innovations in the business sector, companies and businesses tend to use it as a means of providing good and quality services to their customers. The presence of technology has aided in the outstanding boost in the business world by making the daily management of enterprises more systematic, structured, and successful. The involvement of technology in businesses has also created and improved the recruitment process and error-free collection and analysis of business data, and effective communication with clients and partners.

With the continuous advancement of technology in our societies, determining the impact of technology on children has become very important and difficult due to its developing nature. Whether we like it or not, children will interact with technology. It is an integrated, necessary, inevitable, and valuable aspect of our reality (Simms, 2022). Research has shown and proven that the number of hours kids spend behind screens can determine the child’s development. Technology has proven to be an important source of knowledge for kids by providing a more dynamic learning environment for them. The use of ultramodern and audio-visual classrooms designed to meet modern digital standards to suit the digital educational needs of kids has become regular in schools. The internet has been equipped with vital and important sources of information like books, which aid children in the expansion of their knowledge and can heighten their interest in reading. The use of technology by kids also enhances their creativity, builds their independence and empowerment, builds social interactions, and improves their problem-solving skills in their daily lives. While technology has positive impacts on children, it also has negative effects on them. Most kids exposed to technology at early stages tend to experience a gradual decline in the quality of sleep they have. Another alarming effect of the use of technology like the internet by kids is the tendency for kids to be exposed to unsafe and explicit content which is most harmful to the mental well-being of the child. Weakened social skills and frequent emotional and behavioural issues are also some negative effects of the use of technology among kids.

Another importance of technology is its significance in making life easy. There is no lie in saying emphatically that the contribution of technology to daily human life is very significant. “Just one hour of a power outage, stoppage of essential services, and cellular blackout can leave you clueless. People will not be able to do any work” (Kamble, 2021). Technology, over the years, has proved itself as a lifeline for humans whereby the survival of the human race would be non-existent without it. Staying connected globally through the use of phones and the internet to using high-tech medical equipment in medical facilities to tackle diseases reiterates the significance of technology in our everyday lives. But as the saying goes, “every coin has two sides”, which depicts that despite the technology having numerous significance in the lives of ordinary humans, it also has its downsides. The ever-growing reliance on technology by the human race has led to the creation of problems such as loss of jobs due to AI integration into businesses, adverse effects on health such as the harmful effect of digital screens on eyes, a surge in crime with the use of the internet and social media applications, etc. The dependence of the human race on technology also leads to less physical interaction and physical inactivity among people.

The growth of technology over the years has been tremendous and accompanied by its advantages and disadvantages. As a double-edged sword, we need to be able to adapt to it since it has become an integral part of our lives. With new and more intriguing tools in the pipeline, the idea of the complete elimination of technological use in our society is non-existent at best. Thus, the need for humanity to position and upskill itself and learn to coexist with innovations in technology.