How Technology Changed

 “how technology changes our life in some respects such as education, medicine, life, the way we communicate, and the way we respond, etc.”

    Although technology can be a massive blessing in today's society, it can also be a double-edged sword. With the world being as fast-paced and constantly changing, technology has been no exception. It has made leaps and bounds in improving everyday human life, whether we're aware or not. As global pandemic sweeps across the nation, we've been able to turn to our modern-day technology to seek other solutions. When we could no longer be in the classroom in person, we had the availability to switch to learning over the internet. Although it took some adjusting time, the experience I've had has been somewhat successful. I don't believe you can beat being in class, but in a time where you can't go due to circumstances, it's the best option to have. The technology of today is incredible. I observed in a classroom in Liberal, Kansas, where I had the opportunity to see a class full of technology. The teacher I had observed had an app where it mainly was a group chat, including the teacher, all of the students, and their parents. Students and the teacher could upload pictures or videos of what they had been doing in the classroom that day. I found this to be very interesting as it allowed the teacher to form a connection with the student's parents, but also it kept the parents informed on what was going on in the classroom. Although this app has a brilliant use and intention, it raised the question if some students had posted things in it that they weren't supposed to. The teacher I observed said she hadn't experienced it (yet), but she did know of some students, in other classrooms, that were not using the technology responsibly. As far as technology goes into the education aspect, I see more good changes than changes that have hindered the experience. 

    Technology has made outstanding leaps and bounds in the medical field. It took what 100-200 years ago would've only been a dream and turned it into a reality. We have a vaccine for so many things, and we can cure what then would've been catastrophic and deadly. Technology has made it so that there is so much information available and different practices to help with the healing process. For instance, I had shoulder surgery in 2015, one of my friends went through the same procedure in 2020. I attended a couple of his physical therapy sessions, and while we may not think a five year period is very long, I was astonished at how much different his therapy had changed from mine in only five years! Some parts of the treatment were the same, or at least similar to what I had gone through; but there was so much new information thanks to the technology that a surgery that should've taken me eight months to a year to come back from, now has an estimated time of four to six months. Within five years, we have had so much information shared, collected, and distributed that it literally cut the recovery time in half of a surgery. Without the advancements in technology, this wouldn't be possible, because with better technology came better methods of treatment. However, where does technology become too much? In one of the articles about rewriting DNA to help prevent the chance of getting HIV, many people are concerned with the ethical practices of such an experiment. Without knowing the side-effects, and all the risks before testing on a human. This group of scientists got some credibility for their work, but the majority of the article talks about feedback throughout the science community about disdain through the community. While technology has brought amazing innovations and changes to the medical field, has the available technology become too fast-paced for its time?  

    Technology, without a doubt, has changed life and the way we communicate. Everywhere we go, we see a piece of technology, or we carry it with us. Simple clicks of a button can get us to the web browser, a phone call, a text message, or a social media platform, and that's just one device. We have mobilized the computer. With so much being available on one device, would it be fair to rule that this piece of technology has become too powerful? This question will generally get mixed responses. Although technology in moderation is lovely, does it become too much? The video "Technology hijacked the family dinner time" shows how reliant we have become on our mobilized computer. When turned off, the reaction from family members of all ages is shocking. All generations reacted the same way. We're so fixated on the little screen placed in front of us that sometimes we forget to observe the world around us. More so than ever, face to face interaction is at a decline. Many people would instead send the text than do a phone call. Think about going to a restaurant, how many people do you see scrolling through their phone rather than communicating with who they're therewith? I know I'm personally guilty of this. Think about a classroom, how many students can you observe on their phone during a lecture? Communication has become so much more effective due to the changing technology we have, but has this cost us personal interaction as a result? The video we watched shows just how badly technology has taken over some. Another detrimental area that has become a force in society is cyberbullying. Being able to hide behind a username has given people the impression they can say and do as they please. Although we can communicate more efficiently, people can also bully more efficiently. Bullying used to be more common in person, but now a bully can track you anywhere you go. You simply can't get away from your bully anymore. If you were bullied at school previously, when you went home, the bullying stopped for the night. Now, you can be bullied at school, and your bully can figuratively follow you back. For some people, being bullied never stops, and that's the power of modern-day technology. 

    Although technology changing brings many benefits to society, it also brings in some negative. The double-edged sword won't ever stop changing, it merely is up to the recipient of the technology to be responsible. Generally, the advancements made in technology are significant, but sometimes the side-effect can be just as detrimental. Take the scientist who tried to change the gene so that the individual would be more resistant to HIV. Unique idea behind this plan, but ethical practices aren't with the time that he attempted to do this. He was trying to do something amazing so that we can take something we've already slowed down, and he tried to figure out a way to almost eliminate it. You'd think something that we have the technology for would receive widespread praise, but it was met with skepticism and criticism. Technology is constantly changing in our lives and our life as a whole, whether we're conscious of it or not.