Technology: Beneficial or Harmful?
Michelle Sustayta
Professor Elahi
English 201
16 July 2013
Technology: Beneficial or Harmful? Throughout the vast history of humanity, humans have always used their innovative and cognitive skills to create tools to better improve their chances at survival on this planet. This technology advancement first began in the Stone Age when man fist discovered that stone could be utilized as both a harvesting tool and hunting weapon; which gradually developed into spears, bows and arrows, and swords. And as time pressed on, one of the most important and influential inventions since the beginning of time was designed in the shape of a circle: the wheel. However, unlike in earlier times, the evolution of technology in the past 60 years has been growing so rapidly that society has scarcely been able to keep up with it on a global scale. And due to this accelerated development of technology, accurate assessment and critical reflection on our dependency of these new technologies has been greatly hindered. So if one were to consider all the consequences and results of today’s technology objectively, could our dependency on modern day technology be viewed as positive or negative outcome? Both sides of this argument have solid, valid claims, but do the pros outweigh the cons or are the benefits of technology not worth the potential harm it can cause to our society. As the advancement of technology drastically rises, society’s dependency for these technologies also rises, however, this correlation can prove exceedingly beneficial for the people of this era. The improvement of medical technology has been especially helpful in maintaining the health and well-being of millions of people around the world suffering from various diseases, such as cancer and heart disease. In England alone, 30,000 doses of radiotherapy treatment per 1,000,000 people in 2005, which is a lot considering England has a population of 53.01 million; yet this number is only estimated to
Professor Elahi
English 201
16 July 2013
Technology: Beneficial or Harmful? Throughout the vast history of humanity, humans have always used their innovative and cognitive skills to create tools to better improve their chances at survival on this planet. This technology advancement first began in the Stone Age when man fist discovered that stone could be utilized as both a harvesting tool and hunting weapon; which gradually developed into spears, bows and arrows, and swords. And as time pressed on, one of the most important and influential inventions since the beginning of time was designed in the shape of a circle: the wheel. However, unlike in earlier times, the evolution of technology in the past 60 years has been growing so rapidly that society has scarcely been able to keep up with it on a global scale. And due to this accelerated development of technology, accurate assessment and critical reflection on our dependency of these new technologies has been greatly hindered. So if one were to consider all the consequences and results of today’s technology objectively, could our dependency on modern day technology be viewed as positive or negative outcome? Both sides of this argument have solid, valid claims, but do the pros outweigh the cons or are the benefits of technology not worth the potential harm it can cause to our society. As the advancement of technology drastically rises, society’s dependency for these technologies also rises, however, this correlation can prove exceedingly beneficial for the people of this era. The improvement of medical technology has been especially helpful in maintaining the health and well-being of millions of people around the world suffering from various diseases, such as cancer and heart disease. In England alone, 30,000 doses of radiotherapy treatment per 1,000,000 people in 2005, which is a lot considering England has a population of 53.01 million; yet this number is only estimated to