Technology is continuously expanding around every facet of our daily lives. We have been told that technology brings our society many benefits. We believe that we cannot live without our smartphones to constantly check our email, text messages, Twitter feeds, etc. Although technology does make some tasks easier for us, there are many negative affects associated with these advancements.
Today many people do not use conventional methods, such as newspapers and television, to get their news and information. Most people read information online. There are several problems with this form of information gathering. First, people do not read text the same online as we would from paper. Instead of actually reading and comprehending information online, we tend to only scan information. Thus, when getting information from an online source, often we do not get all the information because we skip over parts; parts that maybe important.
Second, when we search for information online, there is too much information for our brains to process. It is hard to pick out the important information from the non-pertinent. In addition, when searching for information, we often want to obtain the greatest amount of information we can get our hands on. However, our brains cannot process large amounts of information. When there is too much information, our brains go into a sort of information overload and shutdown. At this time, we often make poorer decisions with more information than we would with less information; a concept that seems contradicting to most.
Technology has created a world where we are continuously distracted and seeking attention. We constantly update our Facebook and Twitter statuses, check our text messages, and reply to emails. This has made a society that is obsessed with consumerism and materialism. This is especially detrimental to women. Women are constantly trying to achieve the likeness of images they see on the web. Although our society has claimed to have overcome sexism, this is hardly the case for women who strive to perfect themselves according to what they see and read online. Technology reinforces antifeminist ideals.
Overall, the development of technology has created a downward spiral in society. Technology has such potential to benefit society, but the way in which it has been used has only created negative effects. Such negative effects are sure to continue with continual advancements in technology.