How Internet and Technology Affecting us

How Internet and Technology Affecting us

            We know that technology and Internet made our life easier than it was in the past. Now, people can talk and chat with their friends and families easily by technology. People were struggling in the past to reach somebody, but now they can reach anyone by one click or touch. Despite all the bright side of Internet and technology and how it makes our lives much easier, there are many negative effects that technology and Internet can cause. 

One of these negative effects is that we spend much time on them. I personally spend much time playing video games and just using my cell phone. So sometimes that will consider as a wasting of time. Also people now prefer to spend their time on technology (cell phones, Pads, video games, watch the TV) instead of doing something active in real life like playing basketball, go for a walk, skating or hangout. So by time some of them will get addicted to technology then they cannot stop using it. According to Manuel Castells in his article “ The Impact of the Internet on Society” he said, “Globally, time spent on social networking sites surpassed time spent on e-mail in November 2007, and the number of social networking users surpassed the number of e-mail users in July 2009. Today, social networking sites are the preferred platforms for all kinds of activities, both business and personal, and sociability has dramatically increased.” He also said, “Our current “network society” is a product of the digital revolution and some major sociocultural changes. One of these is the rise of the “Me-centered society,” marked by an increased focus on individual growth and a decline in community understood in terms of space, work, family, and ascription in general.”

Another effect is too much sharing, people share too much information about themselves and that might be a dangerous thing to do because we don’t want anyone stranger to know where we live and what we do. So I think technology is decreasing our privacy. Furthermore, some children play video games online and they might be abused by people who they play with because online games allow a sound chat so people can talk to each other. In my personal experience, I have heard kids saying bad words to each other. While I was playing some video game calls (call of duty). In addition, Internet and technology can makes our real life communication weaker, so people prefer to text their friends or family behind the screen than talking to them face to face especially when the topic is important or sensitive. According to the author Nick Carr in his article “McLuhan would blow hot and cool about today's internet” he said, “It encourages participation but it also sucks up our attention and dominates our senses. When we gaze into a computer screen, we tune out everything else. The temperature of media was not McLuhan's only subject, nor even his most interesting one. Although he was often presented as a glorifier of technological progress, he painted a subtle, sometimes disturbing picture of the future.” At the end, technology is a good thing to use and to have, but it has a negative and a positive side. People needs to use it correctly in order to avoid its dark side.