By Sam Bhatt
Although technology is good and has made life easier in many ways, it also has the negative impact. For example, before it was well advanced, kids had a social life that was called "outside". With the kids of today, their form of entertainment is the PlayStation, Facebook, Blackberries, iPhones, and Television sets that come with about 300 channels.
Apart from the kids, there are many people who do not have patience, owing to the high technology levels. The reason is that man is becoming increasingly dependent on technology each day. A good example is that of a coffee machine that is known to take a millisecond to dispense coffee. If it takes more than that millisecond, the machine user becomes anxious.
As much as people have been made aware of the positive side of technology, it is important for them to be clearly made aware of the negative impact it has on various sectors like communication and education.
With regard to communication, it has now become instant, and unfortunately, many individuals have not taken the time to analyze the effect it has on their lifestyles. Those with families have the spouse and the children waiting for them after having been in the office the entire day. Unfortunately, such people arrive home and the next minute they are on their computers checking the latest updates like Facebook, and emails. When they are done, the next thing is switching on the TV. This leaves no time for the family because the definition for the word `relaxation' has changed. To have thousands of friends on a social network like Facebook is not really important, considering that there is no face-to-face interaction.
While internet access and technology have made communication easy, one can also stay connected for as long as it is necessary. The problem is that even when having lunch with family, there are people who are busy with their Blackberries while browsing. To such individuals, they will still claim to be in a family that is close-knit.
Education has also been affected adversely by technology. For example, any student will confess that Google is a god. They will find details related to any topic that they need to write about. Owing to all the information being readily available, students have turned out to be extremely lethargic. With many colleges, the assignments must be submitted online. Regardless of the depth of a topic, a student just needs a few hours online in order to come up with a good essay.
The negative impact is universal in that the kids are the best source of details concerning the latest gizmos, gadgets, and more. They are more informed that the parent on matters concerning cell phones that are latest. Recreational activities have seized to be part of leisure time. For the children, Androids, iPhones, PlayStations, and Video games are the way to go.
