Are we too involved with our technology?

With the rise in the technological age, we are becoming more and more involved with our technology. Technology is made to make our lives easier, but is it taking over our lives? Many articles warn us of the dangers of technology, and its seems many people are rejecting modern innovation. A grandmother from Steyning has spent £4000 painting her house with anti-radiation paint to block out Wi-Fi signals she claims are damaging her health. This may seem extreme, but there is also evidence of people taking their technology too far. For instance, Sydney airport had to be evacuated recently due to a man passing through the airport without going through security as he was too engrossed in his iPad.

So are we too involved in our technology? Or are critics of modern technology simply overreacting?

This article from BBC News states that we should limit television time in order to fight obesity. However, watching television is not the problem here. Lack of exercise is the problem. You could equally argue that we should cut down on reading time in order to fight obesity. The problem is the lack of exercise, but instead of admitting that, television is being blamed. Television often takes the blame for our issues with technology. Many elderly people claim that too much television damages your eyesight, and many articles make bold claims about television damaging your heart or making your life shorter.

An article in the Telegraph states that using two screens at once is changing brain structure and causing emotional problems. This would include actions like checking your phone while watching television, and has been labelled ‘dual-screening’. However, the change of brain structure is not a problem. It simply means that we are adapting to new ways of thinking. We are just learning to use two screens at once.

We are perhaps more reliant on technology than we were in the past, but that is simply because this technology is available to use. We are reliant on technology in the same way that farmers were reliant on machinery after the industrial revolution. They learned to accommodate new elements into their work as it made their work easier. We are doing the same with modern technology advancements too. We are simply allowing them to help. There will always be critics, and there will always be people who overuse and abuse modern technology, but that does not mean that technology is bad. When used for the right purposes, technology is simply there to help.