Essay Sample: Is Technology Good or Bad?

Technology plays an important role in our daily lives but it also comes with negative impacts. While Technology can be extremely addictive, can cause obesity, and lead to depression. It comes with some positives, being able to communicate with someone around the world and being able to work from home and do school at home, and it gives you a source of entertainment.

One reason technology can be viewed as a positive is that it gives a way to communicate with people around the world. Many people rely on technology to communicate with someone across the world and could be the only way they could talk to them. During the Covid-19 pandemic technology apps such as Zoom and Microsoft Team were ways families could interact with each other and talk to each other. In the article “Technology-Changing Communication Around the World” Thomas Atkinson, the author states  “Perhaps, the most notable technological advancement that has changed the way we communicate with others is video chats, messages, or conferences. It makes talking to friends and family more personal. For businesses, video conferences make it easier to see what’s going on, view charts and data, view presentations, and more.”  That shows that the use of technology communication is used for diverse purposes such as for friends, family, and work.  Also, it was how students in school could communicate with each other and their teachers. During the pandemic lockdown schools around the world went to distance learning and distance work which is the use of technology. Corrin Cross says “To help contain COVID-19, many schools moved children to online learning at home. In addition, many parents are being asked to work from home.” in the article Working and Learning from Home During the COVID-19 Outbreak. That shows technology was relied on during the pandemic lockdown. So technology was the only reason why there was school during the lockdown.

Another reason technology can be viewed as a positive is that it can be used as a source of entertainment. Some of the main sources are apps, tv shows, movies, sports games, and video games. Some of the apps that almost everyone uses are Youtube, Instagram, Tiktok, Snapchat, and Twitter. Also, there are multiple apps that let you stream tv shows and movies. Some sports games get millions of people watching live. The most viewed sports game/event was the 2012 summer Olympics, It had a total of 3.6 billion T.V viewers according to Steve Dempsey the author of the article “Most watched Sporting Events”. 3.6 billion people watched that event live off of a television. That shows that event was entertainment for 3.6 billion people. Also, some apps get millions of users. In 2020, Tik Tok had 850 million global downloads according to Most Popular Apps (2021) by David Curry. Tik Tok’s most viewed video has 2.2 million views says Katie Louise Smith author of the article “What is the most viewed video on TikTok? Here are the Top 10”. That just shows millions maybe billions of people use technology as a source of entertainment.

A reason why technology can be viewed as a negative is that it is extremely addictive. People can be addicted to it and not realize it. They don’t realize it until they look at the stats that show how much they use it. The average person picks up their phone 58 in a day and 30 times during working hours according to Jory Mackay author of the article “Screen time stats 2019: Here’s how much you use your phone during the workday” Most people probably do not realize they use it that much People play video games every day for hours and say they aren’t addicted. Technology alienates people from the world when they get addicted. People get so addicted their whole schedule is to play video games, eat, and sleep. They don’t even think about going outside. That schedule repeating itself can lead to them getting brainwashed. “The average TV commercial of sixty seconds has one hundred and twenty half-second clips in it, or one-third of a second. We bombard people with sensation. That substitutes for thinking.” says Ray Bradbury in the book Fahrenheit 451. At the rate, we are using and are addicted to technology that will be people in the future. We will substitute thinking with a TV commercial.