Our Relationship With Technology,
Technology's Relationship With Us
Futurama Video:
In this video, it has many predictions on what life will look like in the future and how technology would save us and solve all of our problems. In this video, they do not predict that bad things could happen if technology took over. The video predicts a lot of things that do actually happen. They predict electric cars, moving walkways (escalators), self-driving cars, space stations, and even underwater hotels. These predictions all actually came true. What they didn't predict was how some of these things have serious problems and aren't solving all our problems but actually creating some more. Self-driving cars would be a really good idea and really take our world into the future but there are serious problems with them. They often crash and are very expensive so only very rich people can have them. We now have space stations as well but that has created problems and competition with other countries. Technology was predicted to only help us in the future but it has actually made some things worse.
Mad World Video:
In this video, it shows how technology has taken over our lives for the worse, not for the better. Cell phones and social media actually cause bad mental health and more cyberbullying. Everyone is now addicted to their phones. The video shows people just walking through life just staring at their phones. People aren't getting real-life human interaction as much due to technology.
Man Video:
In this video, it shows a man going through his life. He causes extreme waste and pollution. By the end of the video, he is sitting on a giant pile of trash. This video is showing how humans are using up all of Earth's resources. Most of the resources we take from the Earth go to waste. We are urbanizing the whole world which is causing even more waste and pollution. We are taking animals and testing products on them, which either kills the animals or makes them sick, or is harming them. The video shows how people are never satisfied with what they have. People always need more. People keep taking and taking from the Earth which is causing climate change and irreversible damage to our planet.
Positives Of Technology:
There are a lot of positives that have come with the advancement of technology as well. Communication has never been easier. We can communicate with people on the other side of the world if we wanted to. Texting and calling are so easy now. We don't need to send letters that take days to get somewhere, we can easily send a text that will get to someone anywhere within seconds. Technology has also created more jobs for people. Social media is very popular now and you can actually make money from it. People with lots of followers and fans can make money from brand deals, sponsorships, or collaborations with companies. We also now have way easier access to information. We can find out almost any information we wanted to just on our phones. We can know what's going on across the world or just in your town. You can also just learn about anything on the internet.
There are a lot of positives of technology for me. I can talk to my family in California very easily. We can text, call, and Facetime whenever we want. I can also watch TV or play games or other entertainment whenever I want on all of my technology devices. It is also easier for me to do assignments when I can do everything online. If I am sick or home and can't make it to classes I can easily join the class virtually so I don't have to miss anything. Advancements in technology have definitely benefited me a lot.
Negatives Of Technology:
There are also a lot of negatives due to the advancements in technology. One big one is the effect on mental health. Looking at others' social media, what people look like or have can start having bad effects on a person's mental health. Studies show that the suicide rate is higher than it ever has been due to social media. Cyberbullying never existed before technology became advanced and we started having social media accounts. It is very easy to sit behind a screen and bully someone. Photoshop has also never been a thing until technology advances. People with lots of followers and fans use Photoshop very often. This causes huge body image issues for some people. Social skills are also being affected by technology. People who grew up using technology may have a harder time interacting and communicating with other people and may grow up to have some social issues.
Even though there are positives of technology for me, there are also quite a few negatives. I use my phone a lot, whether it's watching TV, scrolling through social media, or playing games. This causes me to get distracted from doing schoolwork or other tasks I need to get done. It also affects my sleep schedule. I stay up super late using my phone sometimes and I don't get enough sleep so I'm usually tired during the day. Sometimes looking at other people's social media accounts makes me a little discouraged about how I look, what I'm doing with my life, or what stuff I have as well.
Summary:
To sum up everything, I think that there are major positives and negatives to the advancements people have made in technology. I think if you asked a group of people if there are more positives or negatives, I think 50% would say positives and 50% would say negatives. It's different for everyone. For me, I would say there are more positives, especially because I go to a school 12 hours from where I live and have family across the country from me.
