Nicholas Ward

UWRT1103 Caruso
10/4/15
The Effect of Modern Technology on Todays Society
Throughout human history, mankind has been able to create technology with the usual
purpose of trying to make a certain task easier and help benefit the rest of the world. From
Romes aqueducts providing purified water to Thomas Alva Edisons lightbulb, inventions such
as these have been used to the welfare of people (U.S Department of Energy). With modern
advancements such as laptops, televisions, smartphones and many other electronic devices, we
all can agree that they are great tools if they are used correctly. However, in todays society, we
mainly primarily mainly use these outlets as sources of entertainment, which is just perfectly
fine in moderation. But instead of just being a small supplement into our day, we are consumed
by it. When you walk on a busy street today, it is almost guaranteed that there will be someone
with their face buried in a smart phone. With all of this growth in technology and how much time
people spend on it, it really opens up a question; what kind of effect is technology having on
todays world? It really begs the question of What kind of effect is technology having on
todays world?
In the present day, it is not a rare sight a common occurrence to see someone in public
engrossed in a screen, whether it be a laptop, tablet, or smartphone. Technology has become such
a huge part of our daily lives. But is there a point can it reach the point where it becomes
unhealthy? According to the American Journal of Epidemiology, people spend on average about
eight hours a day viewing technology, which is the equivalent of having a full-time job (Ahuja).

Excessive screen time also correlates with weight gain, as well as being able to cause permanent
damage to your eyesight. Using your technology Being exposed to screens atat night also
causes you to stay up later and be more tired in the morning because your brain associates the
light from the screen with daylight from the sun so that you stay awake (WebMD.)
Apart from the physical effects of too much screen, the overuse of technology can
severely impact human contact in a negative way. According to world-renown psychologist Dr.
Debra Kessler, over 90 percent of all communication is done non-verbally. Whenever contacting
through social media or anything similar, the meanings of words can be muddled and
misrepresented due to the lack of social cues normally given in a real life conversation, such as
body language and tone of voice. The social skills of problem solving and working together with
people can be underdeveloped because of this overuse. With the power of anonymity online,
people can also be extremely rude to people and say terrible things that they would never say to
someones face with little to no consequence (Kessler). Dr. Sherry Turkle, a professor at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, discussed how children can be affected by this vast world
of electronics in an interview with NPR stating they feel as though if they're not sharing
online, they're nobody. They get into a mode of being that I describe as: I share, therefore I am
they go from I have a feeling, I'd like to make a call, to I want to have a feeling, I need to send a
text. In other words, the constitution of a feeling becomes - in order to have the constitution of
the feeling, you need to be texting someone about itAnd that becomes a problem because they
become dependent on other people even for knowing what they're feeling, and it's a kind of use
of other people that can get them into trouble. They don't develop a kind of necessary autonomy
that's so important for an adolescent to develop. (Turkle). With the way that people continue to

use social media and texting for a substitute for real life and sense of self-worth, could it be
possible that the need for face-to-face human interaction will become obsolete?
It can be easy to see the effects of technology as we see it happening to people that we
know on a daily basis as far as physical and mental states are concerned. But how does it affect a
country (in this case, the United States of America) on a national level? Modern technology has
been very beneficial with many things; healthcare, construction, business, and many other jobs
very efficiently and with low cost. Unfortunately, this is where it can really affect people
negatively; the job market. Throughout most of the 20th century to this day, difference between
the Gross Domestic Product of the United States and the median income of a household in the
United States is drastic. How could this happen? Why is there such a gap between the two
when before it was a fairly linear relationship between both? How could there possibly be
that big of a gap between the two when before it was a close linear relationship with each other?
The reason why is that technology is replacing jobs that people would normally have. Instead of
a bank teller, now you have ATMs that help you withdraw money. Therefore the need of the
teller job goes down and there are less jobs. Other examples instances would be car washes, car
manufacturers, and even teachers to an extent. That is also the reason why productivity in the
work place has gone up, while the employment numbers are going down and are not
representative of the expected job growth that you would expect from the productivity value.
With the pace that technology and other advancements are being created, how long will it be
before there are no jobs for humans to occupy? Will we lose our sense of purpose in life because
of technology? (Rotman).
While it is obvious to all of us that technology in the modern day has brought a lot of
benefit to society, we should always take a look at how things can negatively affect us. Is the

technology worth the physical and mental stress that it can take on people; the loss of face-toface communication between two human beings and a possible economic and employment
crisis? Even though we can all see the good in the advancements that we as humans have made,
it is also possible that there could be a downside to this progress that we never saw coming be
an unforeseen downside to this progress.
Works Cited

Ahuja, Masuma. "Teens are spending more time consuming media, on mobile devices."
Washington Post (2013). Newpaper Article.
Kessler, Debra. The New World Order: Have we come to far with technology. 2009.
Rotman, David. MIT Technology Review. 2013. 2015.
Turkle, Sherry. Have we grown too fond of technology? Ira Flatow. 25th February 2011. Radio.
U.S Department of Energy. The History of the Lightbulb. 22 February 2013. 5 October 2015.
WebMD. Effects of too much screen time on teens. 2015. Article. 2015.