Technology can be our best ally and our worst enemy. Excessive use of new forms of digital communication threatens to disconnect its users from the real world.
Homelife has changed dramatically this year, for many people in the world. We have been forced to turn our homes into schools, offices, gyms because of the necessary social distancing needed to combat the current ongoing pandemic.
This also means that we are spending a considerable amount of time on our gadgets – the so-called smart devices connected to the Wi-Fi. The explosion of smartphone use is at an all-time high, and being at home means we spend more time on social media or playing games to pass the time. Sometimes you feel you’ve worked on your phone for too long and want to take a break. Still, you find yourself on the phone again, maybe this time moving from gambling on online casinos like Betsafe CA to watching YouTube videos, or playing your favorite game, and more. While it is hard to imagine our lives without these devices, they are not without their risks.
Technology an essential part of our lives
Technology has become an intricate part of our life that there is almost nothing that we can’t do with it. Men invent technology to be able to enjoy our spaces more, to save time, to make life a more gratifying experience.
Its use spans from security cameras to virtual assistants like Google and Apple’s Siri, all connected to the internet. There is hardly an aspect of our lives that technology hasn’t touched. Many of our home appliances come with sensors and are able to connect to the internet while communicating with other devices in our home.
Dangers of Technology
Technologies by themselves are not good or bad; it is the use that humans make of them that make them an instrument of growth or conflict.
Technology brings great convenience to our lives, and at the same time, they pose a considerable risk to the people who use them, especially the young generation.
The role of new technologies mainly poses a potential risk of addictive behavior. This may lead to many health problems, and one such example is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, a disease that people addicted to chatting and conversing online with other people can suffer. Carpal tunnel syndrome is a disease that occurs when the nerve that runs from the forearm to the hand is pressed or trapped inside the carpal tunnel at the wrist level, causing numbness, pain, tingling, and weakness in the affected hand. Also, staying for hours on a computer or television screen can cause eye problems.
Technology also can be misused — these include cyber-bullying, threatening, or harassing other people, using it for criminal purposes such as scams, deceits, or identity theft.
Our mobile devices make it easy for children or partners to be monitored without their knowledge. According to research in 2018 by Cornell Tech, located in New York, the makers of applications used in tracking expect them to be used that way. In the study, they requested 11 companies who make “child safety” applications if they can be used for tracking their partners, and eight of them said they could.
The number of devices that can gather information about our daily behavior and movements has provided stalkers and abusers many opportunities.
Internet-connected doorbells with cameras have enabled individuals to be monitored from any location in the world while at the door. With sensors at the gates, we can tell when someone enters and leaves the house. Locks connected to the internet can control your movements into some rooms and can even keep you from leaving your house.
Voice virtual assistants are capable of giving a breakdown of all the questions anyone has asked, as well as personal data and search history, all of which can cause conflict.
The recent boom in technology has changed our lifestyle. While technology has many positive effects, there are some possible risks. Anyone uncertain about the impact that technology has on them may want to take steps to cut back on their use of devices and screen time and re-evaluate how they feel with and without these devices.
