This essay is about the advantages and disadvantages of modern technology.

Technology has become a very important part of our lives nowadays. During the past few years, technology has evolved in many ways and is probably without a doubt better than ever before. People are always trying to find something new that will improve our lives dramatically. Some of the creations that have really changed our lives are the computer, telephone, internet and electronic mail, television, cell phone and voice mail. Everything has a positive and a negative effect on our lives and so does technology. Technology may be very helpful but it can sometimes be very harmful.

In our modern society, people can't see themselves without computers. Computers have evolved so much during the past years. They used to be bulky, expensive and not very reliable machine but nowadays there are fast, small and affordable and nearly every family has a computer. With computers you can browse over the internet and look for information about a subject instead of having to do read books at the library or read the newspaper. Nowadays mostly everything is available on the internet. You can even do your Christmas shopping over the internet instead of having to spend a long time waiting at the malls. Electronic mails can be sent over a network and it's much faster and takes up less time than to have to write a letter and then send it and the person would have to wait a day or more to get your letter. Cell phones are also very useful gadgets as people can reach you wherever you are. In case of emergency people can contact you even if you're not at home. When you have a computer you can just store your files on your hard drive and it can be retrieved at any time. It's also much easier to type something than to handwrite as if you make a mistake white-out doesn't have to be used as you can edit your whenever you want before printing it. Machines can also be programmed to answer the phone for you whenever you're not here or you don't want to take the call because you're too tired to do it. Technology has helped the NASA in various ways. They have discovered new planets, found out interesting facts about them like what are they made of or is there air and water on that planet. As you can see technology does have various advantages and it would be pretty much impossible to live without technology nowadays.

Ever since the beginning, technology always had disadvantages. Although computers are very useful machines, hackers can enter your computer and access private information for example your bank account without you even noticing it. They can copy your password and later on use it to take money from your account without any permission. Computer viruses are also very dangerous as it can destroy your data completely and you may even have to buy a new computer afterwards as the damage can't be repaired. People are starting to lose their communication skills because most of the things are now done on the computer. People who don't have enough knowledge in computers are having more and more trouble to find a good job even if they have other qualifications. In chat rooms, older people usually make young teenagers believe that they're the same age as them and sometimes ask them to meet them at some place before kid-knapping them or doing something else that will harm them. These things show that technology has some disadvantages if it is used in a harmful way.

Technology has some advantages and disadvantages. People should know what they're doing and they should know how to protect themselves from hackers and harmful programs. Anti-viruses should be used as well as firewalls for protection. Before actually meeting someone that you've talked to over the internet you should be completely sure that he/she didn't lie to you because it could end up very badly for you. Teenagers should not always listen to the media because sometimes the media only tells you something so that they can make money out of it and in return you hardly gain anything. Technology has become part of our daily lives and the question is how far will technology go?