Is Technology Dehumanizing People or Improving Our Lives?

Technology is one of the most important elements in our lives today. Without technology, we wouldn”t be able to post photos of what we”re eating for dinner so friends and family know.

We wouldn”t be able to share photos of our babies to 400 people we attended high school with a decade ago. Without technology, pay phones would still be on every corner, the Internet would still make that funny noise, and kids wouldn”t have yet another way to bully one another.

Technology is huge in our daily lives. It”s what helps us get from point A to point B in the quickest manner. It enables us to shop online and work from home. But is it also dehumanizing us?

The dehumanization argument

According to a recent study funded by Intel, many young adults believe that technology is dehumanizing. They think the ever-increasing use of technology is causing them to become less human. However, the study did not go into specifics.

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What this could mean is that people feel technology is dehumanizing because it allows them to avoid personal contact. Never does a person have to leave home if he or she can work from home, pay bills from home, and order all meals and household items from home.

The response

However, despite this survey, most young people do not believe technology makes them less human. In fact, 69 percent of people believe that technology enhances their personal relationships.

Perhaps this is because we can now share photos in an instant, and contact people from work without appearing to be doing personal business at the office.

There are a number of ways in which technology enhances the world without dehumanizing us. It allows people to stay in contact in a much more immediate manner.

For example, if your grandmother lives across the country, you can use your technology to FaceTime or Skype with her. It makes personal relationships — particularly those that are long distance — more ongoing.

Technology saves lives

There”s another issue that has to be considered when talking about whether or not technology is dehumanizing. This issue is life-saving techniques: How can new technology that enables us to save lives dehumanize them?

Technology has allowed doctors, researchers, and scientists to create different forms of life-saving software and machines that help humans live longer and healthier lives. Those who once would have had only a short time to live are now able to live out their lives, thanks to technology.

This leads to the question of how anyone could consider technology dehumanizing if, in fact, it”s being used to save, prolong, and improve the quality of life for so many.

Other fringe benefits

One of the other benefits of technology is that it provides the world with instant access to anything they need to know. For example, if you have termites in your home, you can look up termite control and pest extermination companies in your region and have an appointment to get them treated within minutes.

Technology offers a lot of convenience and ease when it comes to life. Despite what Intel”s survey says, technology does not appear to be dehumanizing the world.

High tech might have made it easier for people to avoid spending time together in person, listening to one another”s voices on the phone, but that doesn”t mean it”s dehumanizing. It also allows the world to stay in better contact, to see someone that”s thousands of miles away, and to save lives.

Technology makes it possible for moms to work from home with their kids and scientists to continue to make the world a better place.

Rahish

About Author
Rahish is Tech blogger. He contributes to the Blogging, Gadgets, Social Media and Tech News section on TechOTrack.

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