Is Technology Destroying our Youth?

Technology is something that has been at the forefront at many decisions in many different fields of study. And I believe the biggest area I can think of has been the everyday person, and the amount of information at the everyday person’s finger tips. In the short twenty two years that I have been alive, there have been so many different things that have been invented and thought of in so many different industries. However has the effect of so many advances in technology a good or bad thing for our youth?

And there are so many different fields of study to look at and if it is good for today’s youth, however we will first take a look at technology and its everyday uses such as cell phones, music devices, and social media and its effects on the youth of the United States of America. “So much positive change can come from harnessing innovation and technology through the imagination of youth — it can open their minds, show them the power of what they can achieve to work toward a positive future” (Habib). This author seems to really like the idea of having technology be a very strong driving force towards the future. I agree with this author with certain things because I do believe that technology is something that was should be trying to improve and make our everyday lives better. However I believe that there is a certain line were we should not rely on technology to live. I think its important to remember that technology is here to serve us, and we are not meant to serve technology. So I do agree with Habib to the point that technology is important going into the future, but I dont believe it is everything.

Even if technology is having a bad effect on todays youth and making them to dependent on it, is it worth all the technological advances that the medical community has taken to save lives? I believe that the medical community has made advances to take the medical community to the next level in giving them the tools to save lives. This is one area that has some very interesting advances going for it. I recently heard of a man who for the first time has been able to see in his life. He was reportedly 68 years old when he saw for the first time! Now that is something that came along with the advancement of technology. As the technology got better, so did the uses for technology. Did anyone fifty years ago believe that it was possible to bring back someone’s blindness? Personally I dont believe anyone thought it was possible. Also people that people couldn't hear from birth, can now hear better then a lot of people. That tought of technology being able to do things that we didnt think was possible is not just in the medical community, but it is also in the common marketplace, it is in the military, it is also in the way we think.

The military is another great example of technology really having a great presence. In World War II, the biggest war in the history of the United States, they didn't have a fraction of the technology that we have in the modern military. “Our defense science and technology investment enables us to counter military threats and to overcome any advantages that adversaries may seek. It also expands the military options available to policymakers, including options other than warfare in pursuing the objectives of promoting stability and preventing conflict” () The author clearly knows what the military is about, and probably spent time in the military. He knows that times are different now then they were even just twenty years ago. Technology in the military is something that has always been available, however just recently we as a nation are really understanding what kind of technology the military uses frequently. And this technology does a few different things. First it makes the United States of America the ultimate superpower in the world as far as military power. Second it keeps American lives safer and more lives will be saved because of this technology. And lastly it makes other countries less willing to be test us, and thus saving more lives.

Also another way technology has impacted the way we do things is with the world of social media. Now we know things right as they happen through many different outlets of social media. This includes Facebook, Twitter, and even dating sites like Match. This has been one of the biggest concepts thought of ever! It has become something that people use to contact each other from one end of the earth to the other end. Something that people never would have though possible. However I also believe that it has made our society something called a “microwave society”. Its a way of living where if we don’t get the information right now, its useless. If we cant get what we want right now, we dont want it later. And I believe that could be something good and something bad because, it could make us work harder for what we want, however it might make it more important to finish the project, instead of the process of the project.

So now even with all of these factors involved with technology a person would think that technology is a good thing. And how many potential lives have been saved with the advancement of technology in all the markets and all the different forms it has taken over the years. It still has its downfall, and the downfall is that it would make us more dependent on technology. And one day for some reason, technology might not be around to help us out all the time. We might have to resort back to doing things the old way. And if we as a society are so dependent on technology, that would be extremely difficult. In conclusion I believe as a society and as the youth especially I believe that it would be difficult to make it so we dont rely on technology.

Habib, Marlene. “Youth and technology: power and danger.” The Globe and Mail. Special to The Globe and Mail, 25 Sept. 2014. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.