As I sit here my phone is buzzing away, texts from friends and family constantly pop up on the home screen of my iPhone. Don’t get me wrong I love being able to talk to my friends and family when I am away from them but often times it feels as if there is no escape from technology these days. My grandmother sends me written letters in the mail while I am at college and my parents send me packages. What happened to actually sitting down with a fresh white sheet of paper sometimes even lined and pouring out your feelings for someone. It is sad that everything we say to our loved ones or even the people we hate the most is through text. Some of us have used technology as a shelter to hide behind where others have used things such as Facebook as their own personal diary telling us way too much about their personal lives. There is a fine line between too much and not enough and these days it seems to be a struggle to find the balance. Listed below is just a few of the many reason how technology is harming humans:
1)Communication:
It is much easier to talk through text, I admit it. To not see the emotion in someone else’s eyes as you tell them heartbreaking news is a plus. On the other hand, seeing reactions and hearing the way someone talks gives us as humans a better understanding of the situation as a whole. Getting a cute text message is great but it’s not something that we can keep forever. I cannot put those things in a small wooden box and easily pull them out when I want to share them with my children someday. Without the wooden box of love letters or corny little notes I will not be able to show my children a large portion of my past, sure there will be pictures and such but no words, not emotions with them.
2)Creativity:
The internet makes it easy to just google someone else’s works of art and copy their motives. This is known to many as plagiarism and is not accepted but yet most still participate in it. As young children many of us expressed a wide range of creativity, whether it be drawing a human with six arms or a dog with six eyes. At a young age the anything was possible mentality was present and society had not yet fed our young immature brains the ways of the world. Children learned what they wanted to and came up with new ideas every day. Now many children have iPhones at a young age or gaming systems that allow then to sit on their couch all day eating junk food and playing games that are often times inappropriate for their age group. The days of make believe, humans with six arms and dogs with six eyes are gone. Forever lost because of technology.
3)Lack of Privacy:
When you sign up for Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat or Instagram, some of the more popular social media sites, they ask for a bunch of really unnecessary information about you. For some this may not seem like a big deal but others don’t wish to have everyone know such personal things about them. These social media sites ask for things like previous work experience, birthday, relationship status, family members, hometown, education, and often time a bio. Things like this make using a social media site seem like applying to college or a job. Colleges and job applications require this information to get to know their applicants. Social media shouldn’t ask so much of its users because it’s completely unnecessary.
4)Bullying:
Technology makes it easier for anyone to immediately say how they are feeling about a certain situation or person. This isn’t always the greatest because before the person even gets a chance to think about the message they furiously typed they have sent it and it’s way too late. This doesn’t just go for people who are mad this could be about someone who is too nervous to say I love you for the first time and does it through social media instead. I think that this moto is best when talking, expressing and understanding feelings. If you wouldn’t feel comfortable saying what you have in mind to the persons face, then certainly don’t say it over social media. Bullying is a huge problem because social media makes it easier for its users to criticize and diminish others without feeling as bad.
5)Addiction:
Like many others drugs, technology is addicting. Studies have shown that often times people will feel their phones vibrating in their pockets or constantly check social media sites for no apparent reason. Most claim that this is just due to boredom and lack of energy but nonetheless it is a sign of addiction to their device. These devices are, TVs, video gaming systems, iPhone, laptops, tablets and more. Other researchers have stated that when technology users are without their devices they seem anxious or uneasy, almost as if they are lost. Although the signs of may not be as obvious as drug users are tech addicts still shoe many signs themselves.
