Advancement of Technology: Is it a Good Thing?

Thesis: Technology is helpful for many job fields and everyday life, but it can be a little bit
dangerous by putting people's personal information in danger. That said, technological
advancement is good and beneficial to everyday human life, even with the possible risks.
I. Introduction
II. Effects on Business
A. Production
1. Competition
2. Advertisment
B. Employee Productivity
1. Unemployment
2. Job Projection
III. Education
A. Teaching Material
B. Resources
C. Distractions in the Classroom
D. Teacher Training
IV. Medicine and Healthcare
A. Devices
B. Impacts
1. Brain Chip
V. Everyday Life
A. Communication
B. Smartphones
1. Sells
2. Personal Data
a) Hacking
VI. Conclusion

Hailey Blankenship

English IV Honors

Mrs. Day

18 April 2017

Advancement of Technology: Is it a Good Thing?

Advances in technology will continue to reach far into every sector of our economy.

Future job and economic growth in industry, defense, transportation, agriculture, healthcare, and
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life sciences is directly related to scientific advancement ("Christopher Bond Quotes"). Bond is

saying that future technology is only going to advance in every way possible and in every field.

There is no stopping the advancement of the technology field. Technology affects everyday life

greatly in many different ways. Technology is helpful for many job fields, education, and even

everyday life, but it can be a little bit dangerous by putting people's personal information in

danger. That said, technological advancement is good and beneficial to everyday human life,

even with the possible risks.

Advancement of technology has a huge impact on the business industry. Businesses that

accept advanced technology are the strongest competitors. Businesses with better technology

generally have better machines to produce better goods at a quicker rate. Smaller businesses that

do not have as much money as the larger businesses can keep up with the larger business with

the help of technology. Small businesses can communicate with customers a lot better and more

efficiently when using email, text messages, websites, and apps. Customers are also able to give

the business feedback.. Businesses can send texts and emails to customers to advertise products

and sales, lowering the cost of advertising and increasing amount of sales and customers (List

of Pro and Cons).

Technology can increase the productivity of employees. Employees can process data

quicker and more efficiently with different software and programs. Small businesses often lower

human labor costs by using computer programs, and thereby replacing employees. Though on the

downside of that, there could be more unemployment. Even with the high tech machines

businesses use to produce goods and products, the need for manual labor decreases, which will

increase unemployment in the business field (List of Pro and Cons).

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Occupation 2014 2024 Difference

(Thousands) (Thousands) (Thousands)

Wind Turbine Service Technicians 4.4 9.2 4.8

Occupational Therapy Assistants 33 47.1 14.1

Physical therapist assistants 78.7 110.7 31.9

Physical therapist aides 50 69.5 19.5

Home health aides 913.5 1261.9 348.4

Commercial divers 4.4 6 1.6

Nurse practitioners 126.9 171.7 44.7

Physical therapists 210.9 282.7 71.8

Statisticians 30 40.1 10.1

Ambulance drivers and 19.6 26.1 6.5

attendants
"Table 5. Fastest Growing Occupations, 2014-24."

Other job fields will increase in available job positions according the U.S Bureau of

Labor Statics. Healthcare and industry fields are projected to be fastest growing fields for new

job openings ("Employment Projections). In the table shown above, the U.S Bureau of Labor

Statics project the growth of a few job fields between 2014 and 2024. All the listed job fields are

projected to grow creating more jobs.

Technology also impacts education, providing students with more resources. With access

to the internet, a student can find the answer to almost any academic or research question.

Information is available to anyone and is much easier to find. Instead of having to access or

locate a book to find information, it can just be found online. There are thousands of resources

online for anyone to access (List of Pro and Cons).

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There are plenty of websites teachers can also use to engage students in learning.

Technology can help teachers with lessons and getting new concepts through to students. Every

student learns things differently so there are plenty of ways teachers can teach new material so

every student can learn and understand more efficiently. It also provides plenty of studying tools

for students to use. Technology can help students to understand math and science, or helping

students with research papers for English class (List of Pro and Cons)

A slight problem with students using technology and online resources, is knowing the

difference in reliable and unreliable sources. The information a student finds may not be true.

Any person with access to the internet can get on and post anything. Students do not know how

to decipher between and true and false information. In addition there is what is Fake News that

has been made available to anyone making it more complicated for students know what is real

and what is fake. Students are also more easily distracted by technology. Students can easily get

on Facebook or twitter, listen to music, or text friends. Students stop paying attention to the

teacher and are more focused on what the next big trend is on Facebook (List of Pro and

Cons).

Most university classes today require students to have some sort of device that allows a

wifi connection. It has been suggested that access to online resources and computer-based tools

can help students supplement their learning during class through increased engagement and the

promotion of active learning (Percentage Of Students Off Topic). In a survey of nearly 10,000

students shows that half of the students owning laptops do not even bother taking them to class.

From the students that do take laptops to class close to half use them for notes. The students did

admit to getting off topic due to the laptops. Students admitted to talking to friends, checking

emails, and even doing work for other classes (Percentage Of Students Off Topic). Most
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students do not spend all academic time on off topic activities, but laptops and other devices are

definitely a major distraction in a classroom setting.

Another problem is that teachers do not get the proper training needed to use new

technology. All the money that is spent on technology is going to waste because teachers do not

even know how use the technology provided to them because no one trained them to use it.

Instead teachers just go back to their old ways of teaching. There is limited funding in the

education system but one way that could give teachers proper training needed for using

technology is for the IT Departments for schools to select a person to learn to use the new

equipment. The school can then Require all teachers to attend a workshop instructed by that

person so every teacher learns to use all the new technology provided to them (McCrea,

Bridget).

Technology has also changed medicine and health care. Technology has allowed

researchers to create new and better devices and tools for helping doctors to keep patients alive

and healthy. Technology provides the ability for pharmacists to do research on new drugs and

medicines. All the new research has helped in finding cures diseases and has saved many lives, it

has even increased the average life expectancy for human (Ramey, Karehka).

Healthcare treatment has become much more effective with new technology in the

medical field. Healthcare providers are able to provide better healthcare with handheld devices

making it easier for doctors to gather patient data and upload it to the patient's medical history. A

patient's medical history can be shared with other healthcare providers easily and efficiently.

Giving patients the best possible treatment needed. Scientist can gather medical information

more efficiently and can develop new medical breakthroughs at a much quicker rate (3 ways).

There are many new technological advances in the medical field that have created
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positive impacts. Researchers were able to create an ultrasound probe that can be connected to a

smartphone through a USB cord. Being hand sized the ultrasound is portable and can used to

scan and create images of a patient's liver, kidney, veins, eyes, and other things to find if there

are any infections. It can be used by doctors in remote areas, for house calls, or in the ambulance

when the doctor does not have access to the full size machine (Ramey, Karehka).

In 2007, the University of Florida had the materials needed to create a brain chip that can

help prevent seizures and control artificial limbs. The next step was to get the chip to work and

incorporate all the needed technologies to make the chip function properly. The brain chip is a

means to bypass damaged tissue in the nervous system, says Justin Sanchez, PhD, assistant

professor of pediatric neurology, neuroscience, and biomedical engineering at UF. We can use

engineering principles to help resolve some of the functional deficits that may be in the nervous

system ("Brain Chip). The chip would be placed between the skull and the scalp and be

roughly 10 millimeter in diameter and 2 millimeters thick. Other technological breakthroughs in

the the medical field includes nanocomposite contact lenses that help treat diabetes, robotic

surgeons, and artificial wombs.(Ramey, Karehka)

The way technology is used in everyday life has advanced greatly. Most would agree

that technology has made many aspects of life much easier and convenient. Growing up, even as

a 90s kid I can look back and observe the progression and advancement technology has gone

through. As a child, playing a game on the computer was a huge deal, and only an allotted

amount of time was allowed. My moms cell phone was like a mystical artifact, though the only

thing I did with it was play snake. Now anything that could once have been a chore or may

have taken a while due to slow internet is almost taboo. Any game, any movie, tv show,

information is now no more than a touch of a screen away (Paul Canalia). Communication is
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expressed in many ways through technology. With even the simplest cell phone a person can stay

connected to loved ones with just a text message or phone call. But with modern day

smartphones a user can do considerably more than simply just send a text or make a quick phone

call. The user can do that plus send emails, connect to the internet, get on social media, and much

more. There are many apps available for free download on smartphones to make it easier for

users to access social media sites such as Facebook, Messenger for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,

Kik, and plenty more.

Everyday life is becoming dependent on technology. The sales for smartphones have increased

greatly just between 2008-2016. In the chart shown below it is shows that in 2008 the amount of

smartphones sold were roughly around 140 million, and by 2016 the amount of smartphones that

were sold were nearly 1,245 million. Just in eight years the amount of smartphones sold

increased by almost 1,105 million. Proving that the dependency on technology is increasing

more and more everyday (Statista). Unfortunately, I would say Im very dependent on

technology. I depend on my phone for entertainment, as well as staying connected to just about

everyone I know. I didnt have a phone for the span of a week and youd think I dropped off the

face of the planet. I depend on computers to complete my school work. Most classes have an

online portion, so a computer is required. I sometimes wonder how the world would be affected

if all technology ceased to function, and what sort of chaos would ensue (Paul Canalia).
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(Statista)

People that own smartphones are more at risk of having personal information or data

being hacked. A hacker can get into anybodys phone with the right codes and software. Hackers

can figure out anybodys password by recovering passwords with data that has been stored in the

computer systems. Hackers can even create websites and data that look real and legit, but are

really just copies of the website that contain viruses.Making the user's data vulnerable, the hacker

can then access the user's data and personal information ("List of Pros and Cons).

Nobody is safe from hackers, but most companies have protection over their services and

products to protect their customers. If there is a breach in a company's system, they are to notify

all customers at once, warning all customers of possibly fraud risks and sensitive data

vulnerability. The company must also specify to all customers what personal data has been

exposed to the hackers. There are things the user can can do to protect personal data as well.

Users should create passwords that are hard to guess and should never share passwords with

anyone. Passwords should also be changed regularly. Users should never open emails from

people or companies they do not know, or click any links in said emails to websites they are not
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sure of. Users should never share any credit or debit card information with anyone. Users should

be aware of any suspicious online activity (Five Things).

Technology continues to be ever growing, and though it has its downsides and its flaws,

it is very beneficial to the human life. With technology humans can continue to research new

medicines and create new devices to get better readings for a patients well-being. Technology

increases education and creates a way for teachers to connect to students and get students

involved in many different ways. Better technology provides teachers with the ability to teach

kids better and easier.Technology provides a form of communication to the general public.

People can stay connected through phone calls, text message, or any social media site.

Technology helps businesses to prosper and grow bigger and meet the public's demand, and let

businesses stay connected to the public and provide easier advertisement.

With just a few flaws such as misguided information posted on the internet, and user

information being vulnerable to hacker, there are plenty ways to get around those things. So

overall the good pros of advancing technology outweigh the cons. Technology is most definitely

beneficial to the everyday human life and gives humans the opportunity to continue to grow and

be successful.
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