As all of you are aware, the term ‘Technology’ has evolved over time. Used initially to refer to areas related to engineering and Applied Sciences as well as machinery developed from scientific knowledge, the term today refers to anything created to make life easier for us. From the bicycle to the aeroplane, from the personal computer to the smart phone, from the aeroplane to the satellite – all are a result of technology.
Look at this youtube video which explains Technology in a very
simple way.
No
matter how much controversy there is related to the pros and cons of
Technology, there is no denying the fact that we can’t survive without
Technology.We need food and treated drinking
water and most of this is made available through technology. Hydroelectric
power stations and dams are part of technology. Even the meat we eat comes from
animals bred with the aid of human technology! The banks depend on technology
to operate as do most businesses nowadays. Medical treatment today depends very
largely on technology; X-Ray machines, ECG machines, the heart pacemaker and
all medical equipment are made available by technology.
The Internet and Social Media
I
shall touch on one aspect of technology – something we seem addicted to - the Internet.
The advent of the internet made surfing the web possible and allowed individuals
access to information with a click of the mouse. The Internet, and now, the affordable
smart phone has made social media easily available.
So,
is the Internet and Social Media the same? Not exactly, but social media is
made available as a result of the internet.
So,
is this latest addiction to the internet good? Well, one thing I must say is
that I obviously would never have been able to create a website for General
Paper without the Internet. As I will be linking this to Facebook later, I will
have to depend on social media to tell people about what I have written. And
the fact that I have linked you to so many external websites shows how useful and
powerful this technology is!
Internet
marketing allows individuals to work from the comfort of their homes. Internet
banking allows account holders to not only check their balance, but also to pay
bills and transfer funds online. We book hotels and air tickets online; we even
order our pizzas online. The convenience of getting everything done by just
going online makes life incredibly easy!
Social
networking sites like Facebook and Twitter allow us to find long lost friends and
to communicate with family and business associates on Skype. Applications like
WhatsApp and WeChat allow us to send free messages and to conduct a text
conversation on the smart phone. The benefits that come with social networking
are obviously many and varied.
However,
there are always two sides to a coin. We hear scary stories of frauds looking
for victims on Facebook; we read sensitive posts on Twitter; we receive
WhatsApp messages which we are uncertain whether to believe in or not; we hear
of bank accounts hacked. The list is endless.
I
hesitate whether to classify online games like Candy Crush a positive activity.
It is a good past time but equally addictive. I definitely would not consider
online gambling and casinos as a positive activity but many will obviously
disagree.
Technology,
the Internet and Social Media and very wide topics, so I encourage students to
spend some time reading about these topics and thinking about them in a
critical manner.
Cambridge
has set several questions in the past years on technology related issues.
Please
click on the link to go to Sample Essay Outlines. Read the Outlines on Technology related
essay topics.