Does our technology connect us more, or isolate us more?
[BTW before we start, I am getting these topics from this post by wasabi learning (clickable)]
Being an existing human being in the 21st century, we all are exposed to the bewildering world of technology.
With COVID on our heads and us being stuck in our houses, we understood the importance of technology in our lives even more. Technology helped us connect to our dear ones without meeting them, virtually. Technology was a BIG help medically too. With doctors available 24/7 online, no one had to step a foot outside their homes, if not serious.
But with every improvement, comes a disadvantage, right?
Obviously!
So to answer this question in a better way, we can analyse the pros and cons
How has technology helped in the Education sector
Technology has helped the education sector loads. It makes learning for students more flexible. With access to platforms like YouTube and various other learning websites, one can grasp on concepts on their own learning speed. E-learning adapts to the child’s learning level to helps them understand on their own pace.
Many of these lessons are also recorded and are thus available for students to watch when the want according to their convenience.
Technology also motivates students to learn. They find it exciting and look forward to learning through different mediums such as apps, websites, videos, podcasts etc.
The improvements in the Medical Sector
We have recently seen a BIG example of how technology helps in the medical sector. These days, when people couldn’t go out, doctors were available online. This was a big help for people struggling with COVID and even other problems.
Now talking on a larger scale, technology like 3D printing has helped doctors have a better understanding of the human body. A lot of surgeons perform practice surgeries on these 3D printed models before performing them on actual humans. 3D printing is also being used to make artificial bones, limbs, legs etc. and can be used by patients who need them
Technology has equipped us with better medicine, treatments and equipments. Few years back, people used to DIE of seasonal flu and sicknesses like diarrhoea. Even now, these sicknesses can be fatal but because of the availability of better medicines, the fatality rate has gone down. According to ourworldindata, in1990, 2.6 million people died because of diarrhoea. But since then, the annual rate has fallen down by 1 million. Since 1990, the deaths of children below 5 years because of diarrhoea has fallen by two-thirds. This was just an example. The situation has gotten better in many other sectors as well
Other things like Banking and paying bills have also changed drastically. Now there are only few occasions where one has to go to the bank. All transactions can be made digitally. You can even pay your friends back digitally with applications such as PayPal.
But we have been using technology for quite some time now, and with its advantages, we are slowly starting to see some disadvantages as well. What are they?
Quality time has switched instead with texts and selfies
Have you ever seen a selfie posted by some of your friends and felt like “wow, they are having so much fun” or something similar? OR another thing, if you have noticed is that you have more selfies with your “friends” than with your ACTUAL buddies
This indicates that our perception of having fun has reduced to just the amount of selfies we take. More the selfies, more the people in those selfies, the better. I don’t know about you, but I personally have really less selfies on my phone, and with the people I have those selfies with, arent even that close to me.
Also, I notice that I tend to take more selfies on occasions where I am bored, totally opposite to what I assume when I see other people’s selfies. But that’s just an observation. The point here is that we have become immersed in the digital sides of our lives. These days we can’t enjoy a happy moment ourselves. We have to post it on Facebook or add a story on Instagram.
What does this give us? I still have to find the answer for that
We explore for the “insta”
These days, exploring restaurants isn’t because one wants to experiment with their taste buds. It is because the INTERIOR of that place is “aesthetic” and would fit with the “vibe”
hmmm
Ok. But because of this, you are missing on all the fun, thrill of visiting a new place, taking an hour to just decide the menu, waiting for the food, assuming someone else’s food as yours and finally missing out on the fun of actually eating it.
These were a short compilation of a very long list of how technology has become an integral portion of our lives, sometimes helping us out, other times, ruining it
Ok So let’s come back to the question, Does our technology connect us more, or isolate us more?
Technology is the sign of development. The main aim of technology is to reduce the time that is spent unnecessarily. It is to ease up our work, to move forward
But if we absorb ourselves into the handicapped side of technology, that is social media, then you are definitely not in for a treat
Conclusion- We can decide ourselves if we let Technology become our supporters or become our handicaps, connect us to the world or isolate us with our cell phones, take us forward or get us stuck within the endless cycle of followers, likes, uploads, stories etc.
SO If you have come this far, THANK YOU for not dozing off during my TED Talk, I appreciate it 🙂
Keep waiting for another one of these cause these days, it is big brain time!
Until Next time
TA-TA!
[P.S Leaving you with today’s Quote]