Essay Sample on Impact of Technology on People's Lives

Technology has had multiple impacts on people's lives, some of them being a deviation from the physical and social connection. Consequently, people have lost empathy, and identifying other people's feelings has been complicated as in the case of one-on-one physical interactions. In her article, "The Flight from Conversation," Sherry Turkle recognizes how people expect more from technology but less from one another. It is very hard to get empathy through technological devices such as smartphones and computers, connecting people through social media platforms. The article concludes that even when technology represents an essential aspect of human life, it denies individuals the emotional connection, which is a vital part of life. Consequently, Tom Standage, in "History Retweets Itself," argues how technology has been a source of freedom where people are freer to share critical details with little fear of contradiction. This is different from what people would fear in physical interactions. To have the best outcomes of technology, we should determine the overall physical and psychological effects on people through due diligence and the targeted purpose of use.

To begin with, technology has negative psychological impacts on users. People are losing their empathetic values, which are key in identifying others' feelings and the steps to take to support them emotionally. Deviating from the physical interaction has also led to people faking their feelings and becomes relatively hard to identify their emotions virtually. For instance, using social media such as Facebook and Twitter transforms individual lives such that they are always convinced to scroll their gadgets than relating with others. This denies them an opportunity for deep connection with others, even those in their vicinity. Again, people lose physical connection whereas they could just be a few meters away. This is usually witnessed when people are together but decide to use technology such as social media to communicate with others. For instance, family members in the same house may choose to chat online than have communication that would boost their relations. As a result, there is much pretense and ambiguity when people believe they can relate better with others far away, yet they have no concern with those around them.  It is a red light that even when they meet those far away, they would have poor connection despite the perception of a caring attitude. It is also clear that technology lures people's communication skills because of fear of facing others. For instance, excessive use of technology alleviates people from real-world operations and cannot express themselves confidently. According to Turkle, "At home, family members sit to text and read emails"(59). Such behaviors deny individuals from having ample time to discuss issues impacting their lives as they deviate from what is best required of them. Generally, technology negatively impacts psychological stability.

Again, as people are much connected to technology, they lack the necessary ethical guidelines that would enhance their presentation in public. This is witnessed across job seeker groups whereby they are unable to establish the requirements during interviews and other hiring processes. For instance, one would attend an interview casually dressed but never understand the repercussions of such behaviors. Some of these issues are learned when people engage in physical interactions so that they can understand what to do and limits on them. Then, people are likely to procrastinate essential activities based on the comfort they feel in technology use. There is usually a feeling that when one uses a technology gadget, there is the desire to continue. As such, the addictive nature of technology reduces the morale in learning other things that could be essential in life. Again, Technology denies people having their personal time, which is essential in building their emotional and spiritual wellbeing.

Despite the constraints identified technology use, the world would be deficient in essential aspects witnessed today. Technology enhances the freedom of communication and expression of self. There are many people using digital platforms to openly indicate their challenges, without which they would not have an opportunity to do so. As such, social media has eliminated the need to move from one place to delivering information. Again, globalization issues are simplified through the use of technology. For instance, people do not need to move from country to country for business but can do so online. As such, the cost of operations has been reduced. Generally, people can do more with less effort. As such, Technology is based on efficiency and speed of doing things as opposed to manual methods. For instance, Standage established that "The modern-day printers can serve multiple audiences within a very short period" (81). Generally, one cannot fully criticize technology based on the value it has to humanity although there must be proper control.

People should always determine the benefits and limits of technology to earn the best outcomes and suppress the negative repercussions. Technology limits individuals in sharing empathy reduce the opportunities for one-on-one connection and physical contact. Again, technology challenges job seekers' self-expression, leads to procrastination of other essential life aspects, and denies people their personal time to build their emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Nevertheless, technology promotes freedom of communication, facilitates globalization, and enhances activity outcomes with less effort. As we cannot get back to the traditional ways of doing things, the world adopts ways to make technology effective and be committed to reducing the negative repercussions. Due diligence would be the key in every attempt for use.