The Role of Technology in the Improvement of Human Development - Essay Example

Introduction It is evident that the technology has continuously been advancing which has affected human interaction. In some aspects, it is observed to have numerous merits, which has resulted to it being welcomed by a majority. Despite this, technology may bring forth the emergence of new challenges. A good example is the development of internet, which despite it being very useful brought forth cybercrime that, is affecting all persons either directly or indirectly. The phones are very essential in communicating with others who are not around us. This is very good for human development either politically or economically. Despite this, phones produce electromagnetic waves, which are not good for human health. Furthermore, the phones reduce physical interaction between persons as all transactions are completed without face-to-face interaction. This paper seeks to give an in-depth analysis of technology, specifically the use of phone and internet and they diminish real life interactions based on personal observation and interview results from five individuals. Phones and Real life interactions Due to the nature of the society we are today, the use of the phones has been on the increase. In the past, access to phone was limited and thus those who did not have phones had to travel to meet others. In such case, the human face-to-face interaction was common and had benefits attached to it. The face to face-to-face interaction reduced the chances of lying, which was very good for human social development. The duration a person spends on his phone in a day, depend on the nature of work he is undertaking. For example, businesspersons spend a lot of time on their phones to ensure that all transactions are carried out as planned despite them being absence. For persons such as students, the time spend over the phone is limited to the time spend at class and the resources available. The human health is very essential in ensuring that he effectively interacts with other persons. The uses of phones expose one to radiation, which affects with the brain. This thus interferes with the overall performance of the person. The extent of the radiation absorbed by the body is proportional to the exposure time. Due to the addiction to phones especially by the youths, they thus expose themselves to such danger. The interference with their normal brain functioning affects various activities they are involved in, human face-to-face interaction included. Some people use phones for leisure and pleasure activities. This is well demonstrated by people who spend quantitate period playing various games available in the phone. In most cases, these games usually require one player. As a result, the addicts of such games spend a quantitative period of lime alone. Without the phone, the person would have interacted with other persons face to face in his recreation activities. In the children and youth development, learning from others not only the academic knowledge but also the general knowledge is mainly learned through interaction and observation of other people. Thus, the uses of phone impair face-to-face interaction of people, which may have adverse effect on child development. This does not mean that children should be denied access to phones. Consideration is necessary in ensuring those phones are availed to children at the age of about fourteen years when it would not have much adverse effect on their development. Despite this, they should be advised and monitored. It is evident that people are involved in various activities in order to satisfy their needs. The activities may require their presence or not. In order to ensure that they effectively undertake them, people usually have more than one phone, each dedicated to a particular purpose. Using the phone, they are able to coordinate various activities in their absence. This makes it one of the most preferred methods of communication, as the response to the conversations is real time through calls. There are also methods of communication such as emails and messages. Their choice is mainly determined by whether evidence of the conversation is required in future (Kalbfleisch 328). Social Withdrawal The addiction to the technology is evident among various people. Currently, when travelling in trains or cars, people are usually communicating with others through emails and texts by the use of phone. In such cases, when one interacts with them, the response is usually short and characterized by one word answer. If both parties had no phones, the interaction between them would be intensive with elaborate answers being provided. In such instances, gestures would be greatly used to express various ideas. In some cases, due to distracted attention between people as they converse, quarrels may arise. Thus despite the merits reaped from the use of phones, they gradually kill our face-to-face interaction. In the conduction of work at office, coordination between all employees is essential in the realization of the overall success. This has been achieved in the previous years until recently when the uses of mobile phones have become a distraction. In such instances, an employee withdraws himself from the group and spends his time communicating with others through the phone. By doing so, he decreases his chances of interacting face to face with others and usually finds it challenging. In extreme cases, the employee may find it difficult to discuss important issues with his boss, which may lead to his expulsion. This is usually too bad for him, his family, and the country as a whole due to loss in human labor. Who is willing to lose his job due to inefficiency in face-to-face communication with his/her senior? Thus, we should strike a balance between the use of mobile phone and social human development in order to be better placed in society as well as at work. The importance of technology in the realization of one’s goals cannot be ruled out. Despite this, it interferes with the communication skills among various persons. Currently, phones are available to college students who use them for various purposes. In their communication, it is evident that they usually prefer texting to calling. The big question is why the preference. This is mainly because they are not comfortable in conversing with others through calls as the face to face-to-face interaction has continuously been diminishing. Vision Problem The extreme use of these communicating gargets such as the phone can have negative effect on the vision. This is experienced by long exposure of the eyes to the light from the screen. In such cases, one usually finds himself not in a position to effectively handle integrate with others which gradually affects face-to-face communication. There are people who usually reside in areas that less interaction of people is present maybe due to the activities they undertake. For such persons, they usually spend many resources in phone communication and buying of games. This usually denies them a chance to visit other persons and continuous improve their face-to-face communication. Without the phone, they would use the resources spend on it in other activities which would be beneficial to their human face-to-face interaction development. Conclusion The role of technology in the improvement of human development cannot be neglected. The use of phone has been essential in connecting various persons irrespective of their geographical location. Despite this, it is observed to diminish the human face-to-face interaction. This is evident through distraction where one never concentrates on the conversation and social withdrawal among others. In most cases, the effects are not realized by the victims themselves but by observers. From the observation, people have abandoned their real life and become obsessed to phone use and other technologies. Therefore, a balance between social human development and technological development need to be stricken in order to ensure that face-to-face interaction is not diminished. Works Cited Glaser, Mark. How Cell Phones Are Killing Face-to-Face Interactions. October 22, 2007. http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2007/10/how-cell-phones-are-killing-face-to-face-interactions295.html. December 5, 2011. Kalbfleisch, Pamela. Communication Yearbook 28. London: Taylor & Francis, 2004. Print. Read More