How Technology Could Make Things Worse

I've been having a lot of conversations with people lately about the role of technology in our lives. I've come up with a lot of negatives where its implementation is concerned.

1 - It isolates people and allows them to cut themselves off. People have IPODS - they can just stick their ear buds in and tune the rest of the world out. On the other hand, would these people really be talking to people around them if they DIDN'T have headphones?

2 - It cheapens interactions. People can get ahold of each other pretty much no matter what nowadays. Cell phones, text messages, email, facebook messages. We are in constant contact with each other. Remember back in the day when if you called someone and they weren't home, you just left a message and waited for them to call you back? This technology, I feel, allows people to take interactions for granted. Not just interactions, even, but everything. Everything, because of technology is so easy and accessible - it spoils us! On the other hand, it is nice to be able to reconnect with people from all walks of your life and stay in touch with them easily.

3 - Flaming. There was an article about the psychology behind this in the New York Times the other day. About the emotional distance people have when sending electronic messages. This causes people to say ridiculous things that they wouldn't otherwise say, things they could regret or things that could get them in serious trouble.

4 - Stalking. The Facebook feed creeps me out. Why do other people need to get automated updates about when I write on someone's wall? If I wanted Person A to know that I was contacting Person B, I would send Person A a message explaining it to them. The other problem is that people (myself included) do NOT understand how easy it is for online predators to find out way too much about people just by tidbits of information and research they do online. No one ever thinks they will be a target, so few people take precautions. This also applies to identity theft that occurs online with greater and great frequency.

5 - Privacy issues (the government chapter) - I have no idea what the government is looking at, and I have nothing to hide. I quite frankly don't care whether or not they know that I googled "power rangers" or "meta fiction" or whatever. It does, however, bring these issues more to the forefront given the accessibility of people's private lives via technology.

6 - Reigning it in. I think that technology is almost growing too quickly. People don't know how to fully use the technology we have before it is updated. It is not being implemented to the fullest extent with the most broad range of applications like it could be. And people don't think that they need to take that into consideration. If they don't know how to do something, technology will just produce a gadget to do it for them.

7 - Laziness. People are raising their children on tv, dvd's in cars, etc. No one has to entertain themselves anymore, there's always a virtual supplement. It's creating a weird world full of people who have add and so ironically, it's lowering the productivity level of our world in general.

I'm not saying that technology isn't wonderful, amazing and awe-inspiring. I use it a lot. My cell phone is my best friend, and I use a computer all the live long day. I do think, however, that before my generation is unique because we are fully integrated into the world of technology, but we are old enough to just barely remember what the days before the internet were like. And so, before technology takes over everyone's minds as the only way of life that has ever existed, I think it's just important to remember that although it may seem wonderful, there are some drawbacks that exist too, that warrant mentioning.