How Technology Has Changed or Will Change Our Lives

"Technology is nothing. What's important is that you have a faith in people, that they're basically good
and smart, and if you give them tools, they'll do wonderful things with them" (Steve Jobs)

Have you ever seen or had a cellphone? The most of answer is probably yes. Nowadays every people
have cellphone with various types.
Cellphone is one example of technology. Beside cellphone, there are many kind of technology things.
Technology helps people to do their activities easier. No wonder if there are many people like to have it.
It can give us some benefits, but sometimes it can give us some drawbacks too,. Nowadays, without we
realize it or not, technology has changed our lives and will change our lives because of several
factors. It means it can give us some effects.

Technology is the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their
interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts,
engineering, applied science, and pure science.

Cellphones and social media may often seem like nuisances or time-burners, but a survey by the USC
Annenberg Center for the Digital Future and Bovitz Inc. shows that large percentages of Americans who
use online technology do indeed see its benefits namely, doing more in less time, working from
anywhere and relishing the thrill of trying new technology.

Every development in communication from the printing press to the personal computer has produced
new social effects, said Jeffrey Cole, director of the Center for the Digital Future, based at the USC
Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Now, as interactive mobile technology
increasingly becomes a 24/7 experience, we find users recognize they are reaping new types of benefits
from technology along with negative effects at home and work.

The survey, which explores the views of Internet users ages 13 to 91, found Americans see fundamental
benefits in using online technology:

Seventy-four percent of respondents said they are able to do more in less time with their technology.
Seventy-two percent are excited to try new technology.
Fifty-five percent said they would rather work remotely than in the office.
Forty-five percent said they have more time for their family and friends because technology enables
them to do work from anywhere.

While most Americans benefit from online technology, smaller but notable percentages of users said
those services exact a personal toll in the form of increased stress, struggles to learn new technology
and conflicts in separating careers from personal lives.

The negatives found in the survey include:

Thirty-one percent said technology has made it harder to separate their work and personal lives.
Twenty-six percent said they are stressed because technology has made them always on call for work.
Twenty-five percent reported that they struggle to figure out new technology.
Twenty-one percent said being accessible through a mobile device has made their lives more stressful.
Twenty percent said they frequently resent having to work at home because of what technology
makes possible.
Sixeen percent said their personal lives have suffered because of technology in their work lives.

As in other research released recently by the USC center and Bovitz, the current study found a
millennial rift a gap between the views of millennials and nonmillennials on several issues
involving the consequences of using technology.

Among the differences reported in the positive effects of technology:

Eighty-five percent of millennials said they are excited to try new technology, compared to 64 percent
of nonmillennials.
Eighty-four percent of millennials said they are able to do more in less time with their technology,
compared to 68 percent of nonmillennials.
Fifty-two percent of millennials said they have more time for family and friends because technology
enables them to do work from anywhere, compared to 42 percent of nonmillennials.

And larger percentages of millennials reported personal problems that
result from using technology.

Twenty-five percent of millennials who are employed said they frequently resent having to do work at
home because of what technology makes possible, compared to 18 percent of nonmillennials.
Nineteen percent of millennials who are employed said their personal lives have suffered because of
the technology in their work lives, compared to 15 percent of nonmillennials.
Twenty-five percent of millennials said being accessible through a mobile device has made their lives
more stressful, compared to 20 percent of nonmillennials.

Millennials may embrace technology more enthusiastically than nonmillennials, but larger percentages
of them also recognize that using technology comes with consequences, said Greg Bovitz, president
of Bovitz Inc. and a senior fellow at the Center for the Digital Future.

Over the last five years, technology has been rapidly changing and expanding in every field imaginable.
Smart phones are now capable of acting as standalone computer devices that can take pictures, search
the Internet, send emails and text messages and yes, they even make phone calls. While it might seem
that the technology of today has reached its limits, it is still actually spreading its proverbial
wings. Only twenty or so years ago, personal computers were becoming small enough and affordable
enough for families to buy them for home use. Since then, the world of technology has shown no signs
of slowing down and practically every device available today is somehow tied to computer technology.

It seems hard these days to fathom the original size of computers and how small they have become in
the last ten years, but within the last five years they have become even smaller and somehow more
powerful and faster than ever before! The Internet allows people to connect with family, friends, and
work colleagues from across the globe in the push of a button. Communication options have literally
exploded in the instant avenues of text and video based chat as well as the near instantaneous method
of email. Gone are the days where one had to post a letter and wait a week or more for a response and
long distance phone calls are unnecessary for anyone with a computer, a webcam, and a speedy
Internet connection.

Automobiles are now being manufactured with standard GPS and emergency call features for the
convenience and safety of drivers and their passengers, making the days of carrying a map completely
unnecessary and improving the peace of mind of anyone who must travel the roads alone or at night.
Computerized cars are now potentially at risk in much the same fashion as a personal computer as a
moderately skilled hacker can theoretically take over basic functions of a vehicle - including its engine.

Yes, technological advancement has changed our lives completely, and not always in a good way.
Fortunately, there are many people focused on securing our networked technology and police officers
as well as trained hacking and computer programming experts work to provide safe and secure
technology to the masses. New technology in computer forensics has even opened up the world of
police investigations, as personal computers, cell phones, and other portable electronic devices can now
be searched in an effort to reliably solve crimes that seem to have little other evidence.

Now technology is not only used by adult but also students, it really helps them successfully. Technology
can have a profound effect on education as it can equip students with skills that will be necessary in the
future. This is not to say that certain proven successful instruction strategies will be replaced and
forgotten. With the successful implantation of technology in the classroom, the students are able to
receive a modern and comprehensive education that they will benefit from. Their education will be
more suited to their generation and the direction that our society is moving in. There are some hurdles
in attaining the resources, funding and training needed to streamline technology into every classroom in
the U.S., but it seems that education is on a straight and steady path to getting there.

With or without realizing, technology will always develop because theres no limit for that. The
developments are coming from innovations that many people do. All in all, technology which is always
develop time by time gives us a lot of effect, we should use it wisely so we can take the benefits, avoid
the damage that may happen in the future and also make us concern with the environment.
By : Hizkia Casela Purba
SMA BUDI MULIA BOGOR