English
Electronic control systems and computers are the most important parts of modern life. And the most terrible misfortune for humanity nowadays would be to lose all computers simultaneously. There are no big cities on earth today that exist without automatic control systems at all. For example, water and energy supply is implemented using computer technology.
It is not difficult to get almost any kind of information the modern world. Earlier, people used to visit libraries and read newspapers and magazines. Now we simply need to type a few words and a huge amount of interesting information becomes available in a second. Thanks to modern technology we can do many things without leaving home. For example, online cameras allow us to communicate with people and organize workers' meetings.
Automatic systems perform monotonous work much better than any worker can do. They don’t get tired or make mistakes and don’t demand payment for work. Maintenance costs are much less than wages of skilled workers. Of course, in some areas replacing human work by automatics completely is not possible.
Modern cars show us a simple example of how much we depend on computers. Today, the failure of the electric car system won’t allow the car move. Major car manufacturers spend millions of dollars on the development of new and improved electronics for their latest models.
But not only cars’ electronic systems become more sophisticated. For example, the Federal Aviation Administration is now investing large sums into the traffic control system’s upgrade. The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) relies on GPS, and this will allow packing more air traffic. Currently, every air control system’s work is based on radars. But gradually these old systems are getting overwhelmed, and the NextGen is going to solve this problem. However, a serious disadvantage of this system is what the system is built on - automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B). These signals are going to be used for giving information about every plane in the airspace. But private investigators have recently concluded that ADS-B can be caught by hackers. This means that anybody will be able to make a “ghost plane” and mix the real signals with the fake ones (Henn). It makes us wonder whether modern computer equipment is more reliable than the time-tested systems. We can conclude that the NextGen at this level of its technical facilities can be easily misled by any proficient criminal. Don’t we make ourselves completely dependent on this technology?
Our lives, our culture are getting more dependent on computers. They have a unique feature to accumulate a huge variety of data. According to approximate estimations about 40% of the information are now kept in electronic form only. We use computers in personal life for private needs when we text with friends, make videos and photos, buy food and clothes using credit cards. This makes us think about the connection between the PC and our privacy. We know about existing NSA, Treasury spy programs and the U.S. Mint program. We were convinced that the goal of these programs is the fight against terrorism. However, the U.S. Mint monitors our credit card data when we purchase online. So it spies on every citizen in order to “detect criminal activities or patterns” (Servatius). Is it the price for the availability of modern technology?
Nowadays a large part of the business relies on digital technologies. Tomas Patek, the owner of World Cycle & XC Ski, successfully uses Facebook for his business. This social network with its more than one billion users, is a powerful tool for advertising and marketing researches. Patek and his workers spend about five hours a week updating company’s Facebook page (Berry).
According to IBM, the world daily creates 2,5 quintillion bytes of new data using different forms of digital communication. Nearly 90% of now existing data has been created in the last couple of years. A study conducted by the International Data Corp showed that the digital space is expected to double in size every two years starting from now (Risen, Lichtblau).
Is any of us ready to reject the benefits that computers give us? I think the answer is “No”. Company Ipsos-Reid conducted a survey in which respondents were asked to choose only one source of information that they would prefer to have in case of being on a desert island. 18% of respondents chose a large stock of books, 6% - TV and radio, 4% - a cell phone, 1% - subscriptions to newspapers. But the vast majority (64%) chose a computer with internet access.
An equally interesting study was conducted by one of the world's largest advertising agencies BBDO. About 3000 of average consumers in 15 countries were asked just one question:"What device you’d like to lose least?" Again, the majority of respondents preferred the computer: 45 % of consumers would not like to lose their computers.
Currently, statistics shows that certain categories of the population of the planet spend 60 % of the time in front of their personal computers. According to some estimates, every year people send each other about 36 billion emails. 31 % of Internet users play on-line games.
However, like everything new, computers are often criticized for their pernicious influence on human's life. And this opinion is not groundless. Many people tend to spend their free time playing games or communicating in social networks, in front of their computer screens.
Computers can indirectly damage the physical and mental health of those people, who are incapable to control themselves. Computer users often suffer from backache. Office workers are recommended to follow a particular mode of operation including changing sitting position and doing exercises. This allows to reduce the harmful effect of the PC on workers’ health. For example, after 50 minutes work the users are advised to take a 10-15 minutes rest (Better Health Channel). The continuous work in front of the computer screen also may cause different eye diseases.
Another disease of today's users is a carpal tunnel syndrome that causes pain in the wrist. This disease is a result of uncomfortable conditions of working with a keyboard and mouse. Scientists from Emory University in Atlanta (USA) conducted a special research. They interviewed 632 people who had to spend in front of their computers about 15 hours a week or more. The results were disappointing: 40% noted a vague discomfort; 21% had various diseases caused by continuous work with a computer. Moreover, women appeared to be more prone to get such diseases than men. Scientists also noted that for people who type more than 20 hours a week, the risk of getting an illness is doubled (Research).
Psychological problems may appear to be not obvious. We may not notice how much time we spend in front of computers, gradually isolating ourselves from others and getting dependent on technology and virtual reality. Computer gives those people who have personal problems the opportunity to escape from reality, to realize their desires and experience new emotions. In rare cases, people can substitute reality by virtual world. They may start acting and thinking in new ways, become aggressive and violent.
Despite the fact that computers bring many benefits to mankind, our computer dependence sometimes can get menacing forms. Many people concern about this fact. For example, according to the poll that is currently being conducted by website debate.org, 50% of respondents believe that we place too much reliance on information technology. Here is an example of one of the views: “We are too dependent on computers to do everything for us and soon we won't be doing anything but using our computers or cell phones to do everything instead of just trying it ourselves” (Are we too dependent on computers).
Starting from the creation of the first calculating machine in the 40th of the 20th century to the present day, computer technologies have experienced rapid development and have spread over all of the areas of modern life. Computers are used everywhere: medical equipment, airport management and many other industries. It is hard to imagine a modern life without the influence of computers, but is there a need for this? Human capabilities are significantly multiplied thanks to the use of technologies.
However it is important to understand that objects and processes are not as important for the mankind as our relationship to their usage. Thus, it is important to identify the areas of our modern life, where the use of computer technology is appropriate.
Works cited
Henn, Steve. “Could The New Air Traffic Control System Be Hacked?.” NPR. NPR, 14 Aug. 2012. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. <http://www.npr.org>.
Servatius, Tera. “Big Brother is Watching You Privacy could be a thing of the past.” The Boise Weekly. N.p., 13 Sept. 2006. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. <http://www.boiseweekly.com>.
Risen, James, and Eric Lichtblau. “Idahostatesman.com.” Advanced technology helps U.S. spying thrive. N.p., 9 June 2013. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. <http://www.idahostatesman.com>.
“Are we too dependent on computers?.” The Premier Online Debate Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Mar. 2014. <http://www.debate.org/opinions/are-we-too-dependent-on-computers>.
Berry, Harrison. “Idahostatesman.com.” How much is that Facebook follower worth?. N.p., 29 Oct. 2013. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. <http://www.idahostatesman.com>.
“Internet addiction.” Better Health Channel. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. <http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au>.
“Research.” Emory University Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2014. <http://www.emory.edu>.
