The past few decades has witnessed a rapid growth and expansion of technology like no other time before. These technological advances have completely transformed our way of life. A complex task that once took days to complete by hand can now be done in just a few minutes, or even a few seconds. While technology has unquestionably made our lives easier, the speed and efficiency has not come without its consequences. Humans have paid a price for the easy and efficiency of technology in that social interactions are much more impersonal and computers now control almost every facet of our lives.
One of the most influential technologies that have carried into the twenty-first century is the computer. It has completely changed the way people interact and communicate. Hardly anyone uses snail mail anymore to send a hand-written letter. Instead, it is much faster, inexpensive, and efficient to shoot someone off a quick email. Computers have also given birth to what is colloquially known as social media. A person would have to live under a rock to not know what Facebook and Twitter were. These social media sites allow persons to connect instantaneously, whether they are thousands of miles away or a few feet.
But social media sites and email are not the most breakthrough advancement that computers have engendered. Instead, the most impactful social transformation that computers have had on the world is the internet. The internet is somewhat of a magic box that produces answers instantaneously. What is most striking about the internet is its universal accessibility. All a person needs is a computer to go online and connect with the world. Today, smartphones are practically equivalent to computers in function and allow a person to “plug in” and go online from virtually any location.
A major impact that the internet has had is to provide a platform for all persons to speak freely their ideas and obtain information. The only costs associated with the internet are a computer. Even for those who cannot afford a computer, public libraries have computers that are available to use. Many public accommodations also offer free wi-fi internet access for patrons. Thus, the internet breaks down the traditional economic barriers and provides all people with an equal voice and forum.
There is an oft saying that with great progress comes great responsibility. While computers, and inevitably the internet, afford great sufficiency, speed, and a wealth of information to millions of persons, it is not without its consequences. In the wise words of Martin Luther King Jr., “And I must confess, my friends, that the road will not always be smooth. There will still be rocky places of frustration and meandering points of bewilderment. There will be inevitable setbacks here and there” (King). While King was speaking of the long and arduous road ahead for the African Americans in their quest for equality, his guidance can be applied to other social and technological advancements as well.
There are many negative repercussions that have taken place because of the internet. The first is that human social interactions have been completely altered. Before the internet, people had to pick up the telephone or visit someone in person in order to socialize. The internet makes socializing extremely easy; almost too easy. A person can chat with strangers he or she has never met. The anonymity of the internet has also created a host of problems regarding safety, privacy, and bullying.
Many people say things on the internet they would not necessarily say to a person’s face. A person can sit at their computer and say terrible things about another person without ever leaving their screen. The ease of the internet exacerbates the problem, particularly when a person is angry or in the heat of the moment. Social media sites compound this issue. In a matter of seconds, a person can post pictures, videos, and comments online for all to see. Instead of simply talking problems out with a person and resolving a dispute, many things are blown out of proportion because of the quickness and instantaneous nature of the internet.
The internet connects billions of people all over the world. One would think that computers and the internet would bring people closer. But it has quite the opposite effect. This is because people no longer have to socialize out in the real world because they can do all of that right from home. A person’s world can become quickly very small when he or she does not go out and meet real people, instead stays home and participates in online chat forums.
There are also significant safety concerns with the internet, especially with the ability to track a person’s location through an IP address. Life was much simpler before the internet. The internet opens up a host of worrisome concerns and dangers. There are risks on many different levels. The first is that personal information stored transferred through the internet is no longer private. Millions of make purchases and transactions on the internet using a computer, and there are many ways a hacker can obtain personal information like credit card numbers and social security numbers.
The second potential danger of the internet is that it is a boon for sexual predators to prey on young teenagers. Chat rooms provide these predators with anonymity to talk to young, impressionable children. Social media sites also provide a wealth of personal information about teenagers. Although these sites have security features and privacy settings, many users do not realize the dangers of posting such information. Many teenagers do not realize just how dangerous the internet can be. This is partly because when a teenager posts pictures or personal information from their computer at home, it feels private. What they do not comprehend is that nothing on the internet is private.
Another negative aspect of the internet is that it has somewhat “dumbed” people down. In the good old days, if a person had a question and wanted an answer, they would need to look it up in a book. Today, the person can simply type in the question to a search engine like google, and in a split second, the answer pops up. People no longer have to think for themselves or work out their own problems because the internet now has all the answers. It is almost certain that people today use less brainpower than before computers were invented.
In a similar vein, computers have eliminated the need for skills such as handwriting and spelling. With spell check and autocorrect, a person does not need to learn how to spell the most basic of words because the computer simply spells the word for you, or alerts you to a misspelled word and tells you how to spell it correctly. Furthermore, the art of handwriting is simply a thing of the past. No one writes anything anymore. It is unfortunate because handwriting is a much more personal gesture than a typed, 12 point font, times new roman paper. Soon, elementary schoolchildren will not even need to learn how to handwrite because computers are used for essentially everything that was previously done by hand.
Works Cited
King Jr., Martin Luther. “Where Do We Go from Here.” 11th Annual SCLC Convention,
Atlanta, GA. 16 Aug. 1967. Web. 9 Feb. 2016.
