The Effects of Dependency on Technology

Since the days of the industrial revolution, man has always wanted to improve his environment, or to make his life ceasier. Whether it was a way to speed up production of goods, better communication, or just improving and existing idea, man has yearned to exceed his boundaries and push the limits of his abilities. With the invention of the computer and rapid advances in technology, lifestyles have become physically, socially, and economically dependent upon a wide variety of electronic devises. If the technology were lost or became non functional, it would have a devastating impact globally.
Beginning with the invention of the wheel and fire, man has strived to improve the way he performs basic menial tasks. Just as he did with the wheel, man has become more and more dependent upon technology to do his day to day work. What started as the industrial revolution has moved into the computer age of manufacturing goods at a faster and cheaper rate. Not only has production been effected by technology, it has spread to a wide range of work related tasks such as sales, where only two decades ago personal contact was the norm, now is done with e-mail and I pads.
As well as shipping and receiving where once records were hand written, they are now inputted electronically. Thus it creates a network of human dependency on industrial technology. Even as industry has become dependent upon electronic gadgets so has society’s need to interact. There are a number of devices to help us communicate more efficiently with each other, but at a cost of the personal face to face connection. The number one improvement in social communication is the internet.

With instant messaging, e-mail, and social sites such as facebook, my yearbook, and tagged there is very little if any personal contact. Also in the communication category are cell-phones where you can text, im, take and download pictures all at the touch of a keypad without even seeing the person on the other end. By doing so it creates a varied number of choices for social interaction with no personal or physical contact. Commerce has also become dependent on computers and ever changing technology. Since the birth of the internet, on line sales have become as ommon as turning on a light. You can view a business’s entire inventory and make a purchase with just a couple of mouse clicks. Also effected by technology is in store checkout, where you can do self check out by scanning items over a price screen connected to a computerized cash register. A major change in commerce is security where cameras survey an entire store and electronic metallic strips are hidden in items to thwart shoplifting. In the future even sales clerks could be computerized which would lead to a total dependence on technology.
Thus computers today have become an inseparable part of our lives, forcing man to ask several questions. Like where will the technology lead us, and how dependent are we becoming upon it. Therefore the very things that are now operating industrial machinery, communicating socially, and driving commercial sales have brought about a dependency on technology that is nearly irreversible. It leads to the question, will all the advances in our lives be a benefit or will we become dependent soley on technology to complete everyday tasks thereby isolating ourselves from human interaction.