Technology: The Good or Bad Argument

The amount of good we have received from technological advances has been followed ever so closely by the problems that technology represents. The good we have gained cannot be denied, yet there has been an ever-present debate as to whether or not we are really better off with technology. There have always been individuals that feel the need to go back to a "simpler" time without so many of the things that have caused our society to become more detached and reliant on a "virtual" reality such as cell phones, television, video games, and especially the internet and computers. Though, would any of these individuals really put away their technology and go back to that "simpler" way? Perhaps a few would, but the majority mostly just like to think of the concept as an ideal and lack the effort or self sacrifice to make that ideal a reality.

But for those individuals, it is perhaps some consolation, that places such as forests and vast amounts of land in preserves have been kept so that people can experience the simplicity that camping and fishing or hunting can bring. We are not completely without our roots to Mother Earth. As long as there is a balance kept between our own advancement as a civilization and our connection to natural things, then we should flourish in both ways in our society.

However, this balance is not always attained due to some people being overly saturated with one way rather than the other. And thus the debate rages on. Neither should we go backwards in our advancements, but neither should we forget how to do without those advancements and our connection to the natural world. With both we shall succeed, with only one, we will falter, stagnate, or become the means of our own destruction.

Medical advancements have come a long way and are still advancing vastly within our own lifetimes. People are living longer than ever in recorded history excepting bible times, but with longer lives we are now exposed to diseases and difficulties only brought about by advanced age, such as Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and the problem of where to place an elderly person when they can no longer take care of themselves.

Computers and video games have come a very long way and have been very popular with children, teens, and many adults. However, many debates are arising as to the appropriateness of the content in those games and on the internet as well as the correlation they seem to have with the rising levels of child and subsequently adult obesity. Yet both have become common and almost essential to our society, and in moderation with guidance from parents or with privacy/ search settings can be a useful asset and a fun activity.

Advances in transportation and communication have allowed the world to seem much smaller than it would have even 50 or 100 years ago. We now can traverse all the way to the other side of the globe in about a day's time, where as it too 80 or so days in a hot air balloon and would have taken years on horse back or by ship. We now can be closer with our families, friends, and jobs no matter where they live; seeing them once a year at least has become very possible and almost convenient. Yet the machines we use for travel have caused pollution and deaths of their own, with car crashes being number one. Communication has now become so instant and abbreviated thanks to the internet that educators have complained that it is causing a lot of people to not know how to write and speak formally, with good grammar, and with correct spellings and syntax. However, solutions to these problems are being invented using some of the same new technologies we have come up with or improved upon.

With all things, including technology, there should be a happy-medium that is sought after. Within the balance between societal advancement and the natural world which governs even the technology we invent and can destroy it much easier than we can build it as many a natural disaster has shown us. Whether you stand on one side of the current argument or the other, clearly a balance must be reached before we can truly call our advancements real advancements.