Society has become increasingly reliant on the contemporary technology. The dependence on technology leads to the loss of earlier accumulated knowledge since we cease to transfer knowledge which no longer pertinent remains pertinent. Moreover, the reliance of the public on technology has managed to convince them of their capacity to carry out large tasks in a shorter amount of time resulting in economic advantage. The overdependence of humans on technology began when the ancient humans first discovered that they possessed the power to alter nature via the domestication of animals and plants and this has continued till the present day. The notion that people can enhance the quality of nature has resulted in short time benefits which may possibly have detriments for a long time. This especially holds true in the case of students and employees who have increasingly become reliant on technology to perform the most basic academic and work related tasks.
The positive benefits of technology on society cannot be undermined. Technology offers the chance for the advancement of science and its integration into the daily lives of workers and students. But the problem begins when humans become completely reliant on technology. According to Meserve, Technology stops the process of learning and teaching procedures and information that were common knowledge prior to its introduction. The overdependence on technology leads employees and students to believe that it can achieve anything better, faster, bigger with the possibility for financial advantage. Many organizations and educational institutions feel that they can manipulate the natural order for their personal benefit but such views commonly result on short-term gains. It is such efforts to achieve the “easy way” and the “quick fix” have led them to problems. Technology is able to fulfill the quest of employees and students for enhanced knowledge in the short run. But every aspect of technological advantage frequently has unforeseen and long-term downsides .
Technology, especially the internet and computers, are abused and overused in several circumstances; they can be extremely addictive and both, employees as well as students have a hard time detaching themselves from the virtual world. According to Hayden, the mixture of available convenience, stimulating content, low cost, easy access, anonymity and autonomy contribute to transform it into a totally psychoactive experience. Some effects of technology, instead of positive development, lead to negative psychological effects. Advancements in science which seem innocuous in the beginning like remote controls, elevators, dishwashers, credit cards, drive-throughs and gas pumps have disastrous results. It is true that all of them save energy and time but they energy they save lead people to utilize their bodies less in the manner they were intended to be used. In the end, human beings relegated themselves to a sedentary way of life. This sort of compulsive nature is not indicative of a casual interest but consists mostly of a “driven” usage pattern that may occasionally escalate to impact the lives of humans in a negative manner .
The overdependence of technology has had considerable impact on the vocational skills of humans. Jobs and work now necessitate the understanding of technology. It is considered an important skill for both technology educators as well as vocational educators. Due to shared concerns and interests, technology possesses the potential to unite different aspects of the discourse of the vocationalists and educators of technology.
According to Lewis, vocational organizations have traditionally relied directly upon information from the labor market derived from the counsel offered by the advisory committee and graduate follow-ups to establish the curriculum and planning decisions. These approaches must be expanded to encompass workplace-based, proactive inquiry that offers first hand insight as well as multiple perspectives to explain the impact of technology. In regards to the influence of technology on work, vocational education seems to have considerably defaulted on its claims that it remains the focus of discourse on work. Instead, the centre of this sort of discourse remains with social scientists like sociologists who for a period of two decades have been establishing and framing hypotheses connected to the impact of change of technology on jobs and work .
Technology has influenced the way in which students receive education. Prior to the introduction of technology, the sole materials required by several college students were spiral notebooks, textbooks, pens, pencils and folders. On the other hand, many students in recent times have the options to print their class schedules from the internet, charge their cell phones and carry their laptops in messenger bags. This recent trend does not apply only to students. Even professors are keeping up with the digital era through increased use of websites. They remain in contact with their students via social networking websites and e-mails.
Carte believes that technology has gifted students the internet which has helped them establish communications with instructors. Technology has proven advantageous for students since it has offered them more chance to practice and gain information on how they are conducting classes. The learning methods of students have been affected by technology in a positive manner with the increasing use of eBooks that have proven to be cheaper and easier to access substitutes to traditional printed textbooks. Students are having “more practice and information on how they are doing in class” .
But technology has been both a boon and a bane for the lives of students. Children, especially teenagers, cannot live without cell phones and social networks and their relationships in the real world are suffering as a consequence. The average teenager receives and sends more than 2000 text messages each month and spends no less than nine hours every week browsing social networking sites. But, experts worry that direct social interactions are beginning to take a back seat to this impersonal and removed sort of communication. When people have come to rely exclusively on short bursts of written communication, the people who text miss out on the subtleties that are a part of face-to-face discussions. According to Null, some critics believe that the current generation of children is ill-equipped to carry on a regular conversation, much less look a person directly in the eye. As teens today utilize social media the major form of communication and conversation they “miss out on the subtleties that come with a verbal and especially face-to-face discussion” .
Not much is known about the interaction between human and technology interface. Despite numerous theories, humans have only recently begun to understand clearly the nature and implications of the use of technology. Unless the technology developed by humans improves the quality of their lives, it has no advantage. According to Potts, the Technological Determinism theory explains that technology is the main force in implementing change in society and that the development of new technology can fundamentally alter work activities, leading to the transformation of people and their interactions in society along with the organizations to which they belong . According to Klein and Kleinman, the Social Construction of Technology theory is in sharp contrast to this sort of deterministic approach. It holds the opinion that technology does not have the capacity to shape society in a direct manner; instead, the social context in which the new technology is utilized can affect its creation, diffusion and the manner in which it becomes a part of the entire organization .
However, what is common to both the theories is the implication that the introduction of technology is connected to definite change; they vary in terms of whether the change can be initiated through technology or the social context in which it finds use. Despite the theoretical basis of the comprehension of the change, it’s is safe to assume that a certain degree of dependence on any kind of innovation in technology will certainly occur if the technology enables users to gain some perceived, relative benefit over whatever system it replaces. This sort of reliance is both expected and necessary for the technology to realize the full potential for which it was initially designed. This generally differs from overdependence of technology on many accounts in which people using innovative contemporary technology no longer consider them to be tools flexible enough to support work activities, but instead draw incorrect conclusions regarding the manner in which they work and start to rely on them without any doubts or questions in order to handle essential work activities.
According to Campbell, Sitting and Guappone, reasonable dependence on technology of humans is a good outcome but the overdependence of technology seems to be an important yet unintended consequence of the development of science. Awareness of this issue is necessary in case organizations need to gear up to prepare for and deal effectively with system downtime, maintain accuracy of data, and help users realize that the tools have been designed with the intention of supporting the judgment of humans instead of replacing them completely .
Carr posits that, with several connectivity options available, people online are constantly required to answer e-mails, alerts, and messages, which declines the productivity and creativity of individual tasks. By dividing our attention, diverting our focus, and discouraging making of deep connection with content, excessive Internet usage does not allow development of strong and expansive neural connections that gives depth and distinctiveness to our thinking. We have thus now attained short-term memory. Research has also revealed that certain computing tasks enhances visual literacy skills, however, the same leads to more automatic than rigorous thinking process. Our visual–spatial intelligence is strengthened by Internet-based work at the expense of weakness in higher order visual–spatial intelligence. Neuroscientists believe that our mind is currently being massively re-modeled by intensive web-related activity. Such alternation in cognitive abilities as well as underpinning of contemplation, reflection, and introspection may be fatal. Another anomaly of Internet usage includes disabling our mental discipline; we are now unable to keep still at one focal point in mind .
On the other hand, Connor notes that studies have found that the human brain’s evolution ceased over a thousand years ago. The technological advances that have been made in recent history have only served to compensate in the declining intellect of the human mind. While people who lived between 2000 to 6000 years ago had to depend greatly on their mental strength to solve problems, the current availability of technology and inventions eliminates this need greatly. However, the decline in intellect itself is not associated with the advent of technology but to deterioration in human genes .
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