Computers have revolutionized the world we live in today by making it possible for people to engage in many different activities (Mann 6). It is easier now to connect with people in other parts of the globe passing over information without any difficulties. Over 3 billion people are using computers today with a significant portion of the population able to access computer partially.
Computers have made people to become extremely creative even though most people have put great emphasis on the negative impacts of technology while ignoring the positive side. One of the negative aspects is for example the fact that crime has been improvised using computers even though crime existed even before computers were discovered. However, the computers elevated crime to new levels (Dawn 21).
In this argumentative paper, the author notes that as a society, we are becoming more and more dependent on computers. The question is, is it a good thing or is the dependency detrimental to the wellbeing of humanity? This essay is going to argue along these lines.
The paper will address dependency and over dependency on computers today. In their arguments, the author will look at both positive as well as negative effects of this dependency.
Dependency on Computers and Human Wellbeing
Computers were invented to be used for different purposes and this application has both negative to positive impacts. Regardless of the negativity or positivity of this application, the fault is not with the device itself but with the user (Lea 33). The user gets paralyzed by the computer if they become dependent on it. People depend so much on computers in contemporary society.
This is clearly seen when things grind to a halt if the computer is not included in the operations. For example, even the author of this paper is not only using the computer to type the essay but they are also relying on the grammar checker to correct any grammatical errors in the paper. This is not a good thing since the author is now being controlled by the computer in their academic endeavors.
The use of computer in education is widespread. It is noted that in many countries today, students no longer write on the wall or in their notebooks. Instead computers are used to type notes for the students and even smart writing boards are used instead of the manual writing boards (Higgins 26). Instead of controlling the computer, the education sector is now controlled by these machines.
Technological innovations have peaked especially with the emergence of computers. Technology is an effective transformation tool but human kind is misusing it by depending too much on it. A lot of people are unable to keep a mental track of the various tasks they need to accomplish without the use of computer technology.
For example the spelling check has led to the deterioration of grammar among students and even among those people perceived as being intelligent. They have to consult the computer programs to get it right (Higgins 31).
The author acknowledges the positive impacts of computers in our schools today. Computers have positively turned around the education system in many parts of the world where majority of teachers develop their teaching models using computers.
As the advancement of technology takes root in the society, there is need to expand the skills of the educators in teaching students. In the absence of technological advancement, the learning process may be compromised.
But it should be noted that for computers to have a positive impact on the education sector, the technology should be used sparingly. Overdependence will make it hard to attain the envisaged goals of the learning process (Higgins 32).
In the urban centers, computers have literally taken over everything. From the transport sector to the education sector, computer is a part and parcel of every aspect of life in the cities. What about in the rural and remote areas of the society? Overdependence on computers is getting there too. At this juncture, the author notes that the urban centers have a higher dependency on computers than the rural areas.
This dependency discrepancy will make it easy to appreciate another negative aspect of relying so much on computers. Dependency on computers is detrimental to our wellbeing as it creates indirect or direct dependency on other things. For example, over dependency on computers inevitably leads to over-dependency on electricity and other sources of energy to operate the computer.
For example, when power goes off in an urban hospital which has computerized all its activities, operations comes to a standstill. In a hospital where computers are not part of operations’ central nervous system, operations will still go on even after a power failure. From this perspective, it can be argued that dependency on computers may lead to inefficiencies as the computers themselves are not reliable 100 percent.
Organizations have to incur additional costs when they invest in machines and other resources that are meant to support the computers. This is for example incurring additional costs in electricity, procuring standby generators to cater for power black outs, hiring IT experts among other things. This clearly shows the negative aspects of dependency on computers in contemporary society.
This author is not blind to the positive aspects of computers in health institutions and other organizations in the society today. For example, it is a fact beyond doubt that business operations have become more efficient with the use of computers. Surgical operations and other medical processes have improved with the use of computers. However, the use of these devices should be regulated to avoid over dependency.
Over dependency on computers has turned the benefits of this technology into a catastrophic phenomenon. Relying so much on online shopping will turn many emerging shopping malls into useless structures that are worth less to many. The consumer no longer needs to access the mall physically.
From the comfort of their sitting room, the consumer can order for whatever they need from the shops. Traffic in these malls will reduce. Many people will be rendered jobless given that owners of the shopping malls will require fewer people to attend to the reduced number of clients visiting the shop physically (Lea 9).
Relegation of shopping malls and other physical shopping structures raises another relevant issue on the negative impacts of computers. Computers are taking over operations that were hitherto the preserve of human operators. In the near future, the computer is inevitably going to take away hundreds of millions of jobs leaving many people without a source of income (Shotton 13).
Dependency on computers is also a threat to the privacy of individuals in contemporary society. Privacy is an important aspect in the life of an individual and no one is comfortable when their private life is an open secret to the whole world. Computers are the major source of this problem.
In spite of regular assurances from those online customer care personnel that confidential information will not be revealed, many people around the world have been exposed to danger and even cash lost after hackers have accessed personal information from databases.
Dependency on computers has caused a new form of addiction to these machines. Studies have shown that a large number of teenagers cannot ‘survive’ without the use of computers at regular intervals during the day. This has crippled their way of thinking and in some cases the addiction has caused some illnesses such as loss of eyesight, radiation from laptops and many others.
Many teenagers are addicted to social sites such as Facebook and such others. They remain glued to the computer for almost 15 hours a day (Shotton 24).
However it should be noted that computers have made it possible for people to connect socially across the globe but people are abusing the technology by depending too much on it. Dependency on computers is churning out a new generation of zombies and unbalanced individuals who are relying so much on the technology (Shotton 25).
Conclusion
The author will like to reiterate that computers have tremendously improved the quality of life in contemporary society. Medical operations are now more efficient, shopping have been made easy while education is now more interesting. However, over dependency on these gadgets neutralizes the positive impacts of the technology.
As a result of this, the author argues that the use of computers should be moderate. Human beings should have some level of autonomy when it comes to their interaction with computers.
Works Cited
Mann, Steve. Cyborg: Digital Destiny and Human Possibility in the Age of the Wearable Computer. London: Oxford Press, 2007. Print.
Higgins, Jon. Calculators, Computers and Classrooms: Ohio: Eric Clearing House, 2009. Print.
Shotton, Mark. Computer Addiction? A study of Computer Dependency. New York: Taylor & Francis Publishers, 2010. Print
Dawn, Heron. Time to Log Off. Florida: University of Florida, 2009. Print.
Lea, Goldman. This is Your Brain on Clicks. London: Forbes, 2007. Print.