Technology and modern life

Technology makes life easier. This is the most general idea that laymen
have in the modern era. Technological means have helped humans do the
hardest and most challenging tasks within a less time scope. Indeed,
technology has had its pros throughout the human history, but it also affected
negatively so many aspects of the human life. Social, educational and even
political structure have been altered and infected severely by the negative side
that technology has brought to the world.
Socially speaking, technology has had its effect on the individuals in the sense
that it almost banished direct communication in favor of virtual
communication. Nowadays, you see two people sitting around one table, each
one carrying a technological device - be it a phone, laptop, or any other smart
devices- diving into a virtual world and forgetting about the physical person,
who is sitting in front of him. This way, technology has succeeded in killing
direct communication.
Moreover, people became so dependent on their smart phones to save their
appointments, phone numbers, and even remind them of some important
meetings. The human mind thus, becomes functionless; it no longer functions
or works normally when receiving and storing knowledge; the thing which may
affect the person in his studies.
One of the most dangerous, albeit beneficial technological tools in the
modern world is Internet. The latter provides people with a huge database of
a mixed type of knowledge, which only a critical thinker can use and benefit
from reasonably. Students in different levels depend excessively on the
information they get through the internet, and in most cases, they do not
analyze the content to make sure whether it is good for their context or not.
The lack of critical thinking amongst students is caused by the already-made set
of information they get through internet. Hence, the students brain becomes
functionless, for it no longer does its function in analyzing the information and
storing it. That is to say, the new generations of students become less
motivated and beget a tendency of handing the leash to someone else.
Throughout history, technology has shown both its efficiency and
destructiveness. All the wars which the human civilization has seen were based
on greed and thrust for power; and that power laid in technology. People were

killed in masses by chemical weapons, entire countries were destroyed and

millions of innocent civilians were banished from their own lands. All because
the destructive weapons at that time were held by the wrong people. But does
it really make any difference? A destructive weapon is destructive, be it held by
the right person or the wrong one. In brief, technology has done well to the
world. It surely brought us to an era of enlightenment. However, the evil side of
technology has always overcome the good side of it. thus ,its efficiency lies in
the
reasonable
use
of
its
tools.
-Ali Tataousst
Student at Ibn Zohr University, English Department