Orzechowski 1

Katherine Orzechowski
Wilson
Honors English Language Arts
25, February 2015

How Technology Has Effected Society

Society in the 21st century has been affected both and negatively by technological
advancements. Just as new machines were produced in the Industrial Revolution to make life
easier new technology is being produced in the Technology Era for the same reason. However
the speed at which the new technology is being introduced to society has caused some negative
effects. Even with the minor negative impacts brought on by the speed of changes technology
continues to change society for the better.

Society has been affected both positively and negatively because of technology.
Technology has aided in making communication and travel faster. As a result people are able to
stay in contact which brings people closer together. People show both distain and euphoric
toward new technology. On the other hand technology has made people lazy and impatient. As a
result of increased use in technology children dont want to go outside but would rather play

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video games or watch television (ds2). Not only are children affected by technology laziness but
adults are to. Before technology made communication easier adults would have to visit friends
house, now a simple email, text, or call will suffice. Along with laziness technology has been
linked to impatience. Due to technologys ability to gather information quickly peoples view of
time has changed. In the old days people would have to wait days for letters but now if a text
message goes unanswered for twenty minutes it causes agitation. All aspects of society have
been affected by technology in some way.

In the last few centuries the way people communicate has been strongly impacted by
technological advancements. New technology has had a positive impact and has brought the
world closer together by being able to communicate faster and over greater distance. With the
increase in more technology brings new problems. For example increased cell phone use has led
to more distracted driving car accidents, many of which result in death. Technological
advancements in communication have affected many lives, not all in a positive way. In spite of
more wrecks due to distracted driving with concise traffic laws even this problem can be
reduced. With the technological advances the 911 system has been able to get emergency
personnel to accidents faster and without the communication technology this would still be a
slow process. The advancements in communication have enhanced many areas for the better.

Technology helps relationships because its easier and faster to communicate. Since its
easier to communicate many people are forming a psyeudo-connection (Power), this is when a
person creates the illusion of being connected and engaged, when in reality they arent (Power).
This type of connection can also be linked to superficial or surface-level relationships. Surface-

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level relationships are formed with the perception of having lots of friends but no one to lean on
in a time of crisis. Technology has also made people less sympathetic toward people making
some relationships become strained. Even though technology has flawed some relationships it
continues to help others flourish and grow.

Not only has technology changed the way people interact with one another, but it has
changed the way we learn and interact in the classroom. Before technology evolved schools were
taught by a teacher and students used pencils and paper to take notes. Now students can enroll in
online classes and take notes using laptops and tablets. Many of the technological advancements
in the classrooms have changed learning for the better. For example with the use of virtual
classes students can work at their leisure. However, now teachers feel pressured to use new
technology in the classroom or risk losing the students interest (Kokemuller). With the use of
technology in lessons teachers also face the risk of a malfunction, which will lessen the
effectiveness of the teaching. However since technology is prone to malfunctioning schools have
IT people to aid in solving the problem. Despite miner problems, technology has aided both
students and teachers in the classroom.

New technology has affected the workplace in many ways. Just like in the industrial
revolution new machines are being made to perform tasks faster. As a result of new machines
many business owners are downsizing the workforce and replace them with machines. In
addition to people being replaced, they are also expected to work while not at the office. This
requires many phone calls, emails, and text messages which can affect home life or relationships.
By using so many emails to communicate causes problems of their own. These problems include

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trust and impatience. As a result of using technology to communicate many businesses are losing
the trust received from a face to face meeting and causing slight cynical relationships at work.
Another effect of technology is impatience. Before the use of emails employees had to wait days
for a letter. Now if an email goes unanswered for 20 minutes it can cause agitation (Hamlett).
Since technology has advanced the workforce has experienced changes that make working more
efficient and overall better.

Technological advancements have drastically effected the 21st century in a positive and
negative way. Just like in the Industrial Revolution technology is being produced at a great rate
to make life easier and more efficient. However the rate at which technology is being produced is
causes precocious technology for the times and because of it society is experiencing slight
negative impacts. Despite the few negatives technology has changed and will continue to change
society for the better.

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Works Cited
Ds2. "Positive and Negative Effects Of Technology On Our Lives - Impacts." My Daily Alerts.
N.p., 10 Sept. 2013. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
Hamlett, Christina. "The Adverse Effects of Technology in the Workplace." Small Business.
Demand Media, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
Kazmeyer, Milton. "Negative Effects of Technology on Communication." EHow. Demand
Media, 23 Sept. 2
Kokemulle, Neil. "Technology' Impact on Schools." Global Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2015
010. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
Power, Clinton. "The Disturbing Effects of Technology on Your Relationships - Clinton Power +
Associates." Clinton Power + Associates RSS. N.p., 13 July 2011. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.
Storm, Laurel. "Positive Effects of Technology on Communication." Science. Demand Media,
n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.