The development of technology has drastically changed the world. As people are unable to calculate the rates of progress, it is impossible to determine what changes will be brought about with an even greater increase in technological advancements. Modern technology would seem futuristic to someone thirty or even twenty years ago. Primarily, the whole question of the change in technology is very questionable.
Previously, humans were not able to achieve this sort of breakthrough and then, within a very short amount of time, technology came to be. Many people question whether it was a natural evolution or humanity had some help from some other form of alien life. But no matter how it came to be, technology is presently taking over the lives of people and natural existence. There is no way to get rid of evolution and so, people must learn how to control it and predict what will come next.
The biggest question is that sometimes the problems overtake the benefits of technology. This closely relates to the social media and all the out coming issues. Primarily, there is the safety concern, as the information used in the social networks can be used by the advertisement websites. Even though there are safeguards that try to prevent personal information from being shared with other institutions and sites, there are still some was that information gets out.
“Facebook” has been one of the sited networks that is widely used by people, but has compromised some private information. Even though the damage has been done, the site has adjusted its policies to better suite users (Network Security 2010). Another issue is that people who share information online cannot really control who can access their web page and browse their personal information.
Anyone can leave a comment and become involved in a group of friends. This leads to many concerns, but people are still not aware of the security issues. The unfortunate part is that people do not pay attention to the growing concern and continue using the social networks. It has become so popular that individuals feel to be required to upgrade their social status and produce information that can be acknowledged by others.
Another disadvantage is faced by educational institutions in the possibility of students using the online society without any control. The unauthorized use of online resources, plagiarism and communication with others will greatly increase the student’s chances to use it to their advantage, without relying on their own intelligence. Also a student may discuss the topics given with other students, as well as other people.
This would make the work less individual and the views expressed and information used will be representative of a collective of people instead of that particular student. As the opinion of the individual is the required aspect of work, social networks influence people in an undesired way.
Very often, people will succumb to the pressure and join the majority, as no one wants to be outside the circle and be seen as an outsider. Peer pressure is a very strong force, and it can be seen as the predominant power in the social media and internet networks.
In the twenty-first century, the use of technology has become an everyday occurrence. People are dependent on it in almost all aspects of life. In many instances it has put a major dent in the relationships between people and societies. Technology has distanced people from one another. The communication over large distances makes people closer and unites relatives who could not talk previously. The cheaper phone rates and use of video calling has made communication much more accessible (Green, 2002).
Another problem is the development of virtual reality technology which has reached heights that were not even imagined 20 years ago. There are ways to experience physical sensations, smells and other “real world” stimuli through the gaming experiences. The expressions of different forms of stimuli make cyber world more realistic than ever. This engulfs the person in a fake existence, making the real world unneeded and unwanted by the person.
The conscious mind forgets that a person is in the computer world. The simulation of feelings and thoughts becomes so real that a person believes into the reality of the computer program and spends numerous hours in the cyber world. There is a lot of evidence in the present times that supports this. The games and computer programs are so interactive and realistic that a person can spend a lot of time immersed into the game. There are numerous stories about people who live in a world of computers and virtual spaces.
An article titled “The Right to Privacy is Not a Right to Facebook”, talks about weather the information used on the network should be available to others. Even though there are several layers of security and people are warned about the harms of personal information leaking, organizations are the ones that are using the private information to own advantage. Another problem is that people get so focused on the distant communication through phones and computers that the need for face-to-face communication has become useless.
The development of social networks and the use of internet have made communication between people a form of social status. People focus on the way their facebook page looks, they pay great attention to the amount of pictures they post, number of responses that they receive to certain posts and comments about their status.
The need to go out and do things became not needed. The interaction between people has come down to words on web pages and comments in relation to behavior of others. It is also cheaper and more practical to live in the word of computers, where there is no need to go out, spend money in bars, different attractions and games that involve physical participation of the person and others.
Also, it is very time consuming, so people simply have no time to go out and enjoy nature and the company of others. The constant checking for the replies and posts of others, especially if there is an extreme amount of friends, takes up a lot of time (Restivo, 2005). Very often people add individuals to the category of “friends” through other people. They do not really know the person or are familiar with their individual personality. The only way they “know” them, is by pictures on their page and comments on their “wall”.
The third article talks about the control that is exhibited by the user. The social networks have put a major dent into the society. Self-efficacy and cognitive theory are made use of by understanding the concept of on-line security.
The private information and the communication itself has become a public occurrence where people put their lives out on the public viewing without any concern for security or privacy. Another major issue with technology—texting and emails in particular, is the lack of emotion in the communication. The only way to express emotion is to put pre-set “smiles” beside words or phrases or to use the capital letters or exclamation marks.
When people interact face-to-face, they see each other’s facial expressions, the look in the eyes and see their expression. They can hear the tone of voice and maybe hidden emotions that a person does not want the other to know but nonetheless has them. All of this is impossible to see and feel over the internet or texting. This makes people similar to robots, where the real emotions are not important anymore.
Even if a person is sad, they will put a “smile” beside the word and the other person will not even realize that maybe they must offer a helping hand or console their friend. People become emotionally isolated and strangers (Shilling, 2004). Social media in general, teaches individuals to behave a certain way and to follow the majority. People feel the need to become something they would not think of without the examples given through internet or other mediums.
Even though technology has helped people in a lot of ways, a person must realize its drawbacks and balance the use of technology with the physical interaction with others. The balance must be kept for technology to be helpful instead of detrimental. It is important to keep in mind that technology is not always error proof, thus reliability is a relative concept.
There are many examples that show how technology has proven to be a negative influence on society, but people still continue its use. Security of the personal information is one of the most important things that a person has, and identity theft or abuse of private information has become widespread. People must become aware of the growing problem and use as much care as possible to protect their well being and individuality.
References
Green, L. 2002. Communication, Technology and Society, SAGE, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Network Security. 2010. Web.
Restivo, S. 2005. Science, Technology, and Society: An Encyclopedia, Oxford University Press, New York, NY.
Shilling, C. 2004. The Body in Culture, Technology and Society, SAGE, Thousand Oaks, CA.