Technology: The Destruction of Mankind?

Ever seen others on their computer 24/7? Watched your dad check his blackberry every 10 seconds? Remember hearing about that kid who ran away from home because of a argument over his Xbox? Everyday, more and more people are becoming addicted to their electronics. They are willing to forsake everything in their lives, just for 1 more second to spend with their gadgets. At the same time, this change is worldwide as well. People are becoming more and more reliant on their automobiles, on their television for news, and on tread mills to exercise. What happened to the old days, where people actually WALK to their grocery stores, and jog every morning, and actually pick up their daily papers? What happened to playing football with their kids in the park, or taking them for a hike? We have become dull minded slaves to our technology and our gadgets. Indeed, technology is bad for us, as it creates dependency, creates violence, and through technology, we try to control how the world works.

We as humans, are always trying to make the world better for us, in every way possible. However, at times, we go too far and try to control the way the world works, by playing god.. We have made fishing easier by using giant nets. We have burned down millions of acres of forests for construction. We have even genetically altered animals to better suit our way of living. Our lives may have improved significantly, but what of the animals and the other millions of species sharing this planet with us? It has become hell for them. Everyday, animals are going hungry because we have killed off their prey. Everyday, entire ecosystems are being destroyed because humans are messing with the natural cycle of life. Each year as many as 50,000 species disappear. Most die off, University of Minnesota ecology professor David Tilman says, because of human activity. Because of technology, we are slowly ruining the world, and because of that, us. We are overusing the planet’s resources to create more and more technology, but at the same time, we have a never-ending thirst for more technology. People say that the earth will replenish what we use over time. However, “We can’t count on time to heal the earth’s wounds.” Tilman argues. We are simply using the resources too fast for the earth to replenish them.

Why do we use our technology to try to control how the world works? It is because of our dependency on these technologies. Everything we do today, has to involve technology in some way. For example, in the morning, a typical North American has an alarm clock to wake him/her up. Everyday, the average north American watches 4.5 hours of television every day. Thats almost 33 hours a week! Of course, there are always gamers out there that stay glued onto their computer almost 6 hours a day. Everyday, we spent more and more time on our gadgets and our electronics, and less time actually with our families, or even exercising. This explains why 18% of canadians are obese according to a 2005 study. In America, the obesity rate is 1 in every 3 person. We sit in front our television, laughing gleefully while eating a entire bag of chips. However, not only is being addicted to technology bad for us, it messes up our entire life. There have been thousands of cases, where a student in university would flunk because of their addiction to video games. Even the story of the kids who ran away from home because of a fight over his Xbox relate to this. Addiction to technology is a problem that affects us all.

Tied hand in hand with dependency, technology has also created violence not only amongst countries, but amongst ourselves. As we all know, there are always rivalries between countries and companies to create the best technology. Most of the time, it’s just friendly competition. However, it can escalate into a war, namely the cold war. At the same time, it also creates wars within a family. Couples bicker about how long she/he spent on the television, or on the computer. They complain about how their partner never help out around the family, and they constantly hear the phrase, “Just 5 more minutes honey!” On the streets, people are getting mobbed and stabbed over ipods and cellphones, and on the internet, we have cyber bullying. It seems all technology has been doing is create more and more conflicts! You can say, “well, technology fixes a lot of the conflicts at hand, since the FBI can use the internet to track down hackers, and technology are being used everyday to stop bombings and such acts.” Well, if we didn’t have such technologies in the first place, the said conflicts would have never happened! What we don’t need is patches after patches to fix a problem, just as we don’t need more and more technologies to fix a problem that was caused by it in the first place.

Let’s face it; we have become, as a world, addicted to technology. In doing so, we have destroyed the fundamental rule of being human; freedom. Let’s face it, technology has ruined our lives, and countless other lives which might have been bright, but instead dulled by the face of technology. Let’s face it, through technology, we as humans, are trying to be god, and trying to control how the earth works. We must change the way we use technology, and rid of our dependency on them, for we must always be wary of the consequences.