The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Technology

I remember on my 13th birthday when my parents allowed me to have my own Facebook account. I was so excited because I could connect with friends and explore the world through connections. Before, I only know what was really going on around me as I grew up in a small area and only had a select amount of friends. But when I joined Facebook, I made new "friends" with others around the country and now had more personal information about them than I had ever had. It was a time when I also was given my first cellphone and I used to think how amazing technology was.

The goal of technology is to further advance society and increase productivity. However, as a selling point, technology can make our lives easier, and that's where technology has begun to be an issue. Companies like Tesla, Microsoft, and IBM develop and use technology for science purposes to discover ways to make us stronger and efficient. Meanwhile, other companies profit off of these products created by the tech giants and sell you on the idea of doing less. DoorDash picks up and delivers food for you so that you don't have to go get it for yourself. Netflix lets you watch TV shows and movies instantly so that you need to go to a video store and buy it. Snapchat allows you to send pictures instantly to your friends and chat with them so that you don't have to go meet them in person to talk. All of these products and services are designed to advance our communication but they also allow you to lazy and less productive. 

Have you ever seen the movie Wall-E? It's about the future where all of the world's resources have been used up so all the humans get in a giant space shuttle and leave Earth in search for a new planet to live. In the space ship, all humans are fat because they move around in a chair are constantly assisted by robots. Humans don't need to do anything and can relax because they rely on the robots to fulfill all their needs. Although the whole movie concept is very outlandish, it does feel like at times that our world is beginning to head in that direction. The issue in hand is that people are using technology more for their own leisure rather than utilizing it for productivity.

According to AXIOS, social media usage on mobile phones have rose from 20.8% to 24.1% during this pandemic while productivity usage has also rose from 13.9% to 14.5%. During this crisis, people are spending more time relaxing in their homes and browsing the social network instead of working on ways to assist their community. There's only a limited amount of things people can do during these times, which is why the companies like DoorDash, Netflix, and Snapchat are thriving. But even last year when life was normal, social media was still the preferred option. Why? Because it comes down to money. It always comes down to money. People don't want to work if their not getting paid, and being productive usually costs money to set up while being comfortable and exploring social media only costs your undivided attention.

I still believe technology is very valuable and beneficiary for our society, but it only works if we use it right. Many abuse its powers for attention and can easily damage someone's name. Cyberbullying, ghosting, and revenge porn are examples of the consequences of social media and have caused the spike in youth suicides. When you create a social media account, although not stated, you are expected to use it responsibly. It's designed to increase communication and build communicational bridges, but it's up to you how you communicate. Do you use this advantage to collaborate and be productive, or do you use it to hurt and trick others? Technology can be very influential, but it can not control what you say or do.

https://www.axios.com/social-media-overuse-spikes-in-coronavirus-pandemic-764b384d-a0ee-4787-bd19-7e7297f6d6ec.html