Impact of Technology on Human Beings Essay

Media and communication technologies have significantly impacted the lives of human beings today. Such technology has improved the ability of people to communicate over long distances while simplifying monotonous tasks. However, despite the numerous benefits of such technology, there are concerns of the effects it has on humans. In that regard, media and communication technologies are suggested to affect the mental capacity of people while also negatively influencing younger generations that have grown up with it.

The Internet has taken a huge controlling interest in the daily lives of individuals to the extent that some activities cannot occur without its assistance. Carr (2008) states that, “never has a communications system played so many roles in our lives—or exerted such broad influence over our thoughts—as the Internet does today” (para. 22). This means that the Internet has slowly made human beings dependent on its power. Additionally, the negative effects of social media on the mental state of younger generations has recently been on the rise. Twenge (2018) says that “social-networking sites like Facebook promise to connect us to friends. But the portrait of iGen teens emerging from the data is one of a lonely, dislocated generation” (para. 30). This highlights the fact that more teenagers are being linked with mental issues that affect their overall productivity when compared to previous ones.

Both authors raise pertinent concerns about the use of communication media and technology due to their long-lasting effects on humans. While these concerns are valid, such advancing technologies will still continue to be developed. Therefore, the shortfalls of such technologies should not be used to undermine their importance and the strides made in the field. Developing appropriate ways of dealing with the issues raised will help put measures in place that can minimize the dangerous effects of these technologies on human beings.

References

Carr, N. (2008). Is Google making us stupid? What the Internet is doing to our brains.The Atlantic. Web.

Twenge, J. M. (2017). Have smartphones destroyed a generation?The Atlantic. Web.