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Effects of technological change in our society.

Technology really has a big impact in the society. We can say that because as we can see technology is been a part of our daily living and we can’t live without technology today. We are dependent on it now. And as far as we are concerns having all of it help us in the easiest way to do something, to entertain us, aid us to communicate with people. Because of the interaction and society really satisfy in using all of the devices, gadgets, machines; technology really burst in the community. Technology really affect human, because of the existence technology shown this day, human is seeking more from that.

But having the technology, what are the perspectives and what are the effects of it to the society, to our situation. From the PresidentPolls2008.com, they stated several effects to the society of having the technology around.

Dangers of Technology

It is stated that the over-all existence of technology is good but our world is not perfect, we are not perfect, so our creation is not perfect. “There are clearly dangers and drawbacks that may appear. Every new technology breeds unanticipated or unwanted side effects. For instance, the Industrial Revolution, while reducing manual labor in the long run, had and still has many negative consequences, such as pollution, child labor, and sweatshop conditions.”

Those consequences are appearing now; we can see it to our very own eyes, of what is happening to our world this time. Even though we can see it as the most important things around we can’t insure that there is no side effects.

Technology Created Starvation

“Also, the Green Revolution of the 40s, 50s, and 60s, while allowing increased agricultural production in developing countries, also led to a population explosion in those countries, creating more starvation. New technologies are usually required to solve the problems created by older ones.”

Technology Used for Good and Evil

“Technology, like just about everything else, can either be used for good or for evil. I tend to think that certain technologies are designed more for good and others more for evil. For instance, I think few people would dispute that electricity has been beneficial to mankind. But I tend to think that most weapons have had an overall negative influence on society, though I'm sure that many would disagree.”

Yes, it is designed for good things and mostly it is done for evil. Many technology where involved in terms of explosion of war in many foreign country. There is nuclear technology which was produced by the other foreign country that can kill almost every people of the world.

Afraid of New Technologies

“People tend to be afraid of new technologies, though once they become widely used, the fear subsides. The novel "Frankenstein", written by Mary Shelley in 1818, warned of the dangers brought about by the Industrial Revolution. Many science fiction stories have been written based on the theme of man versus machine, expressing concern about the dangers of artificial intelligence going awry, though this concern has seemingly subsided since the advent of the personal computer.”

It is really fearsome when in terms of the biggest involvement of technologies in our lives. Taking for example the robots that has been created in order to help and to do humans work. Machines are intelligent in terms by their creation. They are programmed to have a high memory about the human world. What if it will come a time that the existence of this machine is more than the existence of humans? What will happen to the world? What will happen when the time comes that they are the most powerful than humans and will rule the entire human community? What will happen to us? Well, I can’t picture out such thing. Machines are dedicated to help human not to over-power there will.

Nuclear Power

“Nuclear technology is one of the significant technological advancement of our time. Nuclear technology is research that involves the reactions of atomic nuclei. It has many vital applications in modern society, the most prominent of which are nuclear weapons, nuclear medicine, and nuclear power. The most controversial of these is, without a doubt, nuclear weapons. First created by the United States in 1945 during World War II, they were developed out of the fear that Nazi Germany would first develop them. A weapon of incredible power, a single nuclear weapon has to potential to decimate, level, and destroy an entire city. The first and only times a nuclear weapon has been used are in World War II, when the United States bombed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” bombs, respectively.

The usage of these bombs allowed for the near instantaneous end to the destructive World War II. Although two cities were leveled and many lives were lost, the situation involving the usage of these nuclear weapons is not nearly as negative as one may perceive. Had the bombs not been dropped, Japan would not have surrendered, and it would have without a doubt prolonged the war for months or even years. This would have forced an Allied Forces ground invasion of Japan in an effort to end the war, which would have resulted in the loss of many more people than caused by the deployment of the two nuclear weapons.

When you look at the usage of nuclear technology, you must look at the situation from the viewpoint of human society as a whole, and not from a standpoint of an individual. Today, in more modern terms, nuclear weapons play a huge role in our lives.

Being in possession of nuclear weapons is not only a positive thing, it allows for us to be free. By holding an arsenal of nuclear weapons, we have a nuclear deterrent. In this sense, we prevent wars and conflicts from escalating into another World War by instituting world order. By having nuclear technology, we are ensuring the well-being, longevity, and freedoms of the human race.

Interestingly, public concerns about nuclear power have gone the other way though. When nuclear power was first developed, most people embraced the new technology until they became more aware of the potential hazards.”

Though society has based many of its goals upon advances in technology, there are some effects that might arise. An article, Technology’s Influence on Society, stated three effects that may be a problem of the existence of technology

Less Tolerant

Tolerance is a dying concept in today's society. Productivity has become all to important, while workers rights and needs, have become a lesser priority. Today's employers have demanded not only more work, but they also want faster. Almost any new work equipment has been based on this fact. This new work strategies includes: construction equipment, computers, and any new methods for producing products. All this equipment, while making the job easier, also created a need for fewer people, and also gave employers something they really wanted: fast, cheap labor. In this way, technology spawned a new, less tolerant society. Speed and efficiency are the driving forces for technology, and people begin to expect these amenities to help them solve problems and work faster. If they are not provided, there is a problem with productivity.

Loss Motivation

Technology also causes many problems with motivation among people. To completely understand this idea, you must first understand how motivation relates to it. When there is an easier way around a problem, obviously people are going to use this method. This causes people to begin to expect to do things in this way, and less thought and work are expected. This is a common problem among more than just under-motivated people. This can also be a problem among those who are in a situation where there is little supervision or none at all. If there is only a job given, with no supervisor, or instructor there will be less work. On top of that, if a problem is encountered, there is no help on hand. This alone can cause a person to become frustrated with the work, and become less motivated. This however is not caused by the technology, but by the lack of utilization of technology. It could be considered technology related if there was a problem with work ethic related to technology provided at work. For example, if a student were to fail to do their work because they played solitaire on the computer all day, rather than working on their lesson plan, this would be an example of how technology would effect motivation. An outside factor, in this case a computer, is causing a difference in motivation.

Society is More Lazy

Technology, despite having its many benefits, has it's many drawbacks. Laziness is a major side effect of technology. People are becoming extremely dependent on computers, as well as other technology. This became very apparent to me the one day at work. A new edition to our productivity arsenal has been walkie-talkies. While walking with my manager, we were discussing them, and at the time, he was using the one. He stated, "I love these things, they save so much running around." After hearing this, I realized that, at the time, we were roughly 6 feet from the nearest phone, which could have done the same thing. This, in my opinion, was a perfect example of the laziness technology produces. While there was another form of technology right in the area, it was too difficult to use it. When I mentioned this, he said, "It's not laziness, it's just more efficient." The idea of laziness was passed off as efficiency. Being more efficient does not necessarily allude to laziness, but laziness is usually the motivator behind productivity.

In the Philippines the advancement of technologies is not that high. We are poor to innovation in terms of technological condition. We are somehow behind in terms of lifestyle and trend when we are talking about technological innovation. Maybe planning and adaptation is necessary in order to deal the crisis we are having right now.

REFERENCES:

http://www.presidentpolls2008.com/Philosophy/effects-of-technology-on-society.html
http://www.scienceray.com/Technology/Applied-Science/The-Effects-and-Influences-of-Technology-on-Society-and-Human-Kind.114891
http://www.angelfire.com/pa3/SeniorProject/tolerance.html
http://www.angelfire.com/pa3/SeniorProject/motivation.html
http://www.angelfire.com/pa3/SeniorProject/laziness.html