Can you reach New York from London in six hours without boarding a flight? Will you feel warm inside your house during winters, if you don’t have a heating system? If you don’t have a telephone and you have to stay at your office till late at night, will you be able to inform your wife? Can you imagine living without a television, a refrigerator, a washing machine, or a vacuum cleaner? If the answer to all such questions is in the negative (and for sure it will be negative) then undoubtedly science and technology have made a great impact on our lives and surroundings.
The relation between technologies and civilizations is very critical. The family structure has been globally affected by the advent of new technological devices. Certain technological advancements are society-specific because after all science and technology are governed by social principles and ethics.
Our family structure has changed drastically through the years. Earlier, families used to be consolidated. Members of a family lived together and worked as a team to provide for their children’s food, education, and other requirements. In other words, they were united. But due to large-scale industrialization (a result of modern-day science and technology), families have been forced to split. Dr. Mamdouh Awny argued, “The new technological products such as Radios and Televisions have made deep changes in the culture of the families. They have, to a certain extent, untied the family relations, who used to spend together the leisure times…” (Awny, 4)
Technology has usurped several activities from families. Now everyone is worried about his or her interest. A feeling of competition has crept into their minds. People don’t have time even for their beloved ones. E.F.Schumacher, a British economist, was also of the same opinion when he said, “I think I should not go far wrong if I asserted that the amount of genuine leisure available in a society is generally in inverse proportion to the amount of labor-saving machinery it employs” (Swenson, 87).
Society has split into two major segments as a result of industrialization. The business segment and the working segment. People of these two segments are always at loggerheads due to conflicts in their interests. Moreover, a new segment called the middle class has spawned during these years.
The defeat of marriage as an institution has been the greatest disaster. Earlier, marriage was considered to be a sacred and everlasting relation. But nowadays marriage is considered to be a contract. The recent developments in science and technology have opened new avenues for people. Women are now more liberated. This has elevated stress among families.
Another drawback is unemployment. Advancement in technology means deploying machines in place of humans. This has resulted in unemployment and resentment among the societies.
We should not undermine the positive impacts of science and technology as well. We all work and live for a better future for our children. We try and send them to the best possible schools so that they may get the best of education. Modern technology has developed various means by which students can be imparted to the best of their knowledge. For instance, nowadays schools and colleges have computers in classrooms. Other fields where the impact of science and technology on society is visible, are urbanization (expansion of cities to give better life), modernization (for safety, comfort, and swiftness), and development in the means of transport (for comfort and swiftness).
To conclude, we can say that though science and technology have brought development, comfort, safety, swiftness, and knowledge, they have also been the reason for the plunging of moral values.
References
Awny, M. M. (2004). Social Impact of Technology: a perspective of Developing Countries. 13th International Conference on Management of Technology- IAMOT 2004. 1-7.
Swenson R. A. A Minute of Margin: Restoring Balance to Busy Lives. Colorado: NavPress, 2003. Print.