Effects of Technology Essay

The advent and development of computer technology through the past three decades may be the most important and revolutionary technology ever invented in history. It has completely changed the way people do things, from interpersonal communication to professional transactions. Computers have affected the cultures of families, friends, offices, academes and even states and countries. The effect of computer technology can be felt starting with the most basic social institution, the family. The personal computer has become a regular fixture in millions of homes around the world as much as the television or the couch. Some families even own more than one computer units. Of course, the statistics would be lower among less developed countries. Nevertheless, an effect of the prevalence of the personal computer is that it has become more and more affordable. For third world countries, the idea of catching up has also come to mean being competitive when it comes to computer literacy compared to developed countries. Parents use the computer to surf the Net, look for job-related information or anything that interests them like news or hobby sites. The children use the computer as aid in making assignments and research, playing video games or make friends they won’t ever see in person through the chat rooms. Outside the home, the influence of computers is felt much more. Offices cannot survive without computers as they are used for word processing, calculations, presentations, and other tasks. Internet technology, an offshoot of computers, has created a thriving electronic-based commerce which has made millionaires out of people whose capital has been their mere creative minds. Other activities that before were done without computers are now computer aided. Automated banking has made banking and bill payments possible even outside office hours. People can shop online using their credit cards without the hassle of crowds and miles of walking inside malls just to find the perfect shirt or gift. Government agencies keep voluminous records and provide computer-aided services making it possible to make transactions with the public even without the latter’s physical appearance. Like all technologies, the computer has its downsides, too. For instance, it has caused concern regarding the privacy of people as with the interconnectedness of networks in cyberspace it has become easy to look for information about anybody. Another is that computers, being machines, break down. Since people have grown dependent to this machine, a crash or malfunction of computers especially those doing tasks which a lot of people depend on (like ATMs when they go offline or very important data that suddenly become irretrievable with a crash) could result to a lot of frustration and anxiety. Computer technology has also created computer addicts and affected the health and social skills of some people who would rather sit in front of a monitor than interact with humans or play ball outside. Computer technology has become so prevalent and people and nations have become dependent to it so much so that in modern times it has become unimaginable to survive without computers. The future is going to be defined by how fast and how far computer technology is going to take humankind and to be computer-illiterate in this modern world is to be left behind in the past.