Do We control Technology or does It control Us?

We live in the age of technology. Barely an hour goes by without us having to make use of modern technology. In fact, I'm now making use of technology just to write this blog post.

We wake to the ringing of an alarm clock, use a toaster to toast our bread while listening to the news on the radio, or watching TV. In this time and age, we cannot live without technology. Technology has doubtless made our lives much easier. At the press of a few buttons or a few keystrokes, we can communicate or chat with anyone in the world instantly. Traveling across countries, which used to take months or even years by foot, now takes mere hours by plane, ship or train. Work is done much more efficiently, saving both time and money. We now have better food and nutrition, more comfortable living quarters and even healthier bodies, all thanks to technology.

However, I feel that this dependency we have on technology has caused us to be almost controlled by it. Goodness knows how we would be able to accomplish anything without it. Imagine a world without the World Wide Web, machines or inventions. It would be like the Stone Age once more, with mankind consuming raw and uncooked food with little or no light or warmth. Thus, technology is a double-edged sword as it makes our lives easier but, in a way, holds power over us.

For example, whenever I need to do some research for my projects and assignments, the first thing I would do is hit the search engines like Yahoo!, MSN and Google. Usually, I would get what I want within minutes. Without the Internet, I would be forced to visit the library and pore over thousands of yellowed books just to find that bit of information I require. Hence, this shows that I rely very much on technology and am very much controlled by it.

Furthermore, I know of one of my ex-classmate who spends half his time on the computer; the other half on his Xbox 360. He was so addicted that he played video games almost 6 hours a day on a weekday! As a result, he was so hooked up with the virtual world he lost contact with the real world and did not make many friends. He also failed to hand in assignments on time as he was too busy playing. In the end, he barely passed PSLE and went to a neighborhood Secondary School. In this case, technology has domineered over him and cost him many friendships and maybe even his future.

In conclusion, I feel that technology controls us. We are far too used to it that it has become a point where we absolutely cannot live without it. Hence, we must learn to reduce our dependacy on it and stand on own our two feet, so that we are not manipulated by it.