Almost any new technology is originally invented to bring the humankind convenience and drive the whole society progress. However, we do not always get what we have expected. Some unwanted by-products or unpleasant effects were also born with the advent of the new technology in concern. Social media won’t be an exception, nor will others be.
Regarding the negative effects of social media, some pointed out that internet and its typical representative Google replaced our own thinking, made us lazy, and lost competencies. Some other said that the virtual circle of friends on the internet had almost displaced our physical circle of friends. Some even stated that the usage of internet could potentially harm our relationship to our partners, spouses, children, parents, etc. If they would perceive these so-called negative effects as a natural consequence of any new technology, I would agree that they see the problems rather objectively. However, if anyone sees social media as the root of these unpleasant phenomena, it would be rather unfair to the technology itself.
Take the first negative effect as an example, Google and its related web-based applications are becoming smarter and smarter. Some bunch of people also became more and more dependent of Google. To this group of people, whenever they face an unsolved problem, they resort to Google. Whenever they need information beyond their own knowledge, they ask from Google. It is rather difficult to imagine what will happen to them if Google disappears on the earth one day. Moreover, calling them as the parasites of Google would not even be considered as “inappropriate”, since they have no characteristics, and they think no more than what Google has given to them. Nevertheless, does that mean we should take Google away from the internet? Does that mean it is completely the fault of Google? In my opinion, the answer to these two questions would be “No, we shouldn’t” and “No, it isn’t”. Actually, Google is such a fantastic and brilliant creation, if you can master the art of manipulating it. To any new technology, it is the same. People should learn how to effectively make use of them, rather than becoming the slaves of them. That is to say, the inner root of all these negative effects is actually from human-ourselves. When we are judging any new technology, we should examine them more objectively and positively.
To sum up, any new technology would potentially bring a society some positive and negative effects. However, correctly, scientifically and effectively using a technology to help us accomplish tasks and make the society progress would be the essence of what a technology is originally invented to bring us.
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2 comments:
I agree with Tao that people need to learn how to make effective use of new technology. I also believe that that the negative effects are caused by us humans, as the technology itself also is. And I think that the negative effects of social media that were discussed in class, like; stress, social behavior etc., will be handled with more care in the future. This is because we were all in class able to recognize these affects already and therefore I think that people will develop ways to organize their behavior to get away from more negative human outcomes.
Of course some people will have trouble realizing the way that computer technology and social media are affecting their lives negatively, however, I think that the more these problems are discussed in a public arena the more able people will be to handle these problems. Schools may in the future be able to affect young people’s behavior and their time spent online. Hence, if young people will be aware of the negative affects e.g. stress and non-physical behavior that social media may cause, already in their early years of using the technology, they may also recognize and arrange their studies and work in a more vigorous way. This recognition may make people more able to examine social media technology in a more objective and positive way.
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