The convenience and problems of modern technology

As time goes by, the fundamental living model of human beings has been changed.

With all the different inventions and discoveries throughout the years, our standard of living has been affected both mentally and physically. Physically speaking, since the industrial revolution, machinery has substituted much of the work that was previously performed by hand. This has greatly lowered human's physical ability in term of skills. However, this is not the worst scenario. The worst influence of the technology to society today is the impact on our mentality.In today's world, we are moving toward a society that is tied to a media constructed universe through new communication technology.

Computer, Internet, television and other communication technology are all becoming necessity for daily life. However, these new technologies bring up problems that are being neglected by man. These hidden and real dangers can definitely impact our society in an inconceivable way. Consider the sinking of the "Titanic", which was known as the "unsinkable because it was the latest and greatest technology"1, is a typical example of such, terminological speaking, it is called "technological arrogance".

People are overcome by the conveniences of new technology and overlook the flaws in the application of the new technology. Firstly, the new technology has isolated one person from others. The new form of communication eliminates our need for fundamental human contact. It has "removed from most of us in the Western world any need to spend time in contact with the physical.

"2 With the Internet, the entire world is merely a click away. Many people spend most of the time on the Internet and neglect time with friends and family.Cellular phone, Internet, fax machine, television have become the essential tools of communication. "Two-thirds of Americans tell researchers they get "most of their information" about the world from television", "more American homes have TVs than plumbing", on average, American homes have the television on more than seven hours a day.

" 3 With these new technologies, people do not need to come in contact with other humans face to face. Social interactions are an essential part of human well-being. When people use the new technology in excess; it acts as a barrier to social interaction and social well-being.Society's values have also changed significantly as individuals choose to perform everyday tasks online.

"A study of professionals, engineers, statisticians, and psychologists using e-mail networks indicated that they felt socially isolated and lack group influence, and showed that they were unable as an electronic group to develop or maintain contact with one another, resulting in a breakdown in group processes, a cornerstone of social organization. "4 The Internet "caused borders between organizations to erode, group processes to break down" 5.The continual advancements in technology will break down the mode of social interaction. New technology deteriorates the meaning of real experiences.

Like how our aggressive heating and air-conditioning systems make the seasons merely something to observe through the windows, but not felt through personal experience, the television also serves the same function. Television has replaced many natural experiences, "prime time has almost certainly become the most significant line of the evening, replacing the evening star or the sun sinking beneath the horizon". People are "changing their sleeping habits so they can watch television. "Lots of people see "information ecology as a sort of substitute for the other, older, natural ecology. "8 Additionally, many daily activities like shopping and banking are performed via television and the Internet, rather than the actual experience itself. In the essay "Participatory Media"9, written by Philippe Marx and John Palmer nearly a decade ago, they explained the potential of "Home Shopping" via catalogues, cable TV, phone lines, and through the computers.

The Shopping Channel and countless online shopping opportunities prove this prediction to be highly accurate today. "If the shopping pattern of consumers becomes linked in any substantial ways to the use of communications technology form the home, there will be even more changes in marketing institutions, with many more traditional stores disappearing. " 10 Technology has now become more of a service than just entertainment. Additionally, in the path that we are heading, technology threatens to jeopardize our privacy.

In the new universe that technology has created, our privacy is greatly compromised.Privacy is something that we've had for most of us, all of our lives. Technological advancements put this privacy at risk. For example, Echelon is a digital surveillance concept developed in 1971.

Although most information is classified, Echelon is a system used by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) to intercept and process international communications via communications satellites. "According to reports, ECHELON attempts to capture staggering volumes of satellite, microwave, cellular and fiber-optic traffic, including communications to and from North America.This vast quantity of voice and data communications is then processed through sophisticated filtering technologies"11. The system includes stations run by Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, in addition to those operated by the United State12. The information is collected through violating the privacy of individuals, then, it is used against the individual.

Our privacy is put at risk for government interests. Another issue of privacy exists in the use of the Internet. There are great dangers to the World Wide Web. When one surfs around the Internet, some websites will leave "cookies" on our computers.

Cookies are pieces of information generated by a Web server and stored in the user's computer, ready for future access. "The sad truth is that revealing any kind of personal information opens the door for that information to be spread"13, these seemingly harmless cookies can be used against the users. Using these "cookies", the sites and the Internet Service Providers have the ability to track the sites we browse. Although there are other technological advancements such as the DSS 1000, designed to protect the users in terms of telecommunication security, there are likewise, more programs and devices that can spy on users.The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) developed the "Carnivore" in 2000.

This program is able to sniff out emails for any illegal activity. These programs protect society through the violation of the individual's privacy. Privacy is loosing grounds in the battle against government interests. Looking at the world around us today, the telephone, the television set, the computer and its Internet access, new computer software and hardware surrounds us in every part of our lives.

These luxuries have become a necessity. Although the "new technology" gives us many conveniences, it raises problems.Changes of lifestyles and values, loss of identity and loss of privacy are just few of the many problems that technology has granted upon our society. These problems are beyond the realm of human control. If we are to let this go on, humans will eventually lose their supremacy over technology.

Both the individual and society will continue to depend on this ever-changing technology. We have a strong dependence on technology to communicate with others; this dependence will only get stronger with time. In turn, we are being "programmed" by the new technology. "Convenience always carries costs - this one may be worth paying, but it is high. "