Technology – the next step for society or our greatest downfall?

In today's society, we've come so far with technology – smartphones are a necessity, laptops are at our fingertips, and the internet is basically our lifeline. But is it really worth it?

Technology – the next step for society or our greatest downfall?

We are absolutely obsessed with technology. We are the first generation to be fully adapt to computers. However, are we so fixated with our tech, that we are slowly starting to segregate ourselves from others? I always find my family looking at their phones more than watching TV, and they say I'm anti-social!

Obviously it's not just phones that are the problem, but in a society filled with increasing paranoia and distrust towards each other, it's only natural that we want to shut ourselves out every now and then. How long can this continue though? We can't completely separate ourselves for good.

It doesn't help that technology is directly influencing our behaviour – our language for instance. Since when did "yolo" and "bae" suddenly become English? I suppose this influence has its benefits as well, as there are more young people like me who only have to look at a computer monitor to know exactly what we're doing. But in terms of social media (I'm looking at you, Facebook!) people are becoming increasingly rude to each other, not to mention plain nasty, because they feel comfortable saying things that they would never say out loud, or to someone's face.

There have also already been moves to replace humans in manual and non-manual jobs with robotics – I can already imagine the amount of people in unemployment. Considering the amount of music and art that is processed through a computer, will there be a time when artists are replaced with robots that are built to produce creativity? In some ways, it's nice that technology takes many art forms to a whole new level; the incorporation of electronic music in a wide variety of genres, the use of Photoshop to improve the quality and style of your drawings, as well as the increasingly impressive special effects in film and TV programmes has shown us a side to creativity that is completely new. My problem with this is that I wonder if the arts will lose its authenticity – we can't forget that the increasing development of technology makes it easier to plagiarise and commit white-collar crime. Do artworks that exist online belong to the original artist, or belong to anyone at all?

Perhaps this is a cynical outlook towards technology, but I'm saddened by the fact that there seems to be more harm than good. I am well aware of the benefits as well – like better access for people in need, simpler data storage, stronger connection with others around the world – but like any other piece of technology, how reliable are these systems?

What will happen if there is a problem that we can't fix it, when we have come to rely very heavily on tech? Will we have to start again with centuries-worth of growth gone?

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Author

Luke Taylor

Luke Taylor Contributor

I work as the Network Administrator for Voice. Having completed my apprenticeship at Unit Twenty Three, I continue my work supporting Voice and the Youth Network in whatever way possible. Music is my passion, and I will happily talk about all the bands you've probably never heard of!

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