Cindy Wu

Mrs. Yeyna

AP English-3

21 April, 2017

Is Modernization a step forward or a step towards destruction?

Modernization is a double-edged sword, being both the greatest friend of humans and the

worse enemy of nature. Decaying of culture, increasing number of stress disorders and the

burning weather all but slap those modernists in the face. However, the immediate impact of

modernization on the general health of the population and quality of communication is not to be

neglected.

Simplicity could sometimes be a gift, for cognition may open [ones] eyes to the

horrible pit, but to no ladder upon which to get out, recalled Frederick Douglass. Modern people

are more exposed to stress and depression, caused by both circumstances and the polluted

environment. The suicide rate rises like a roller coaster since the beginning of modernization and

is not stopping. Among the problems viewed as a source of stress was the constant pressures of

social media and the threat of cyber bullying and victimisation. The range of victims grows

from high-pressured university students to include those in poverty or under social pressure as

York's vice-chancellor, Koen Lamberts, stated that the report on suicide figure has highlighted a

"growing issue, not just for universities but for society as a whole".

Technology is a wonderful treasure for humans; workplaces are much efficient,

communications are faster than ever. But, it has gone too far in the sense that young adults are

moving from leaning in with an aching back from working and studying to leaning in with
burning eyes from staring at the screen to much. It is a rarity to see a child without a device in a

public place. But are those inventors responsible for such decline in the number of hard workers?

The lost of cultural values is inevitable as modern transportation greatly increases the

capacity of humans in traveling the world, or even beyond the world like Mar and Moon,

increasing the diversity of population. Humans have created the machine that gives them more

freedom and enjoyments, but lessens the time spending with their family. As the statistics done

by the Office of National statistics divulges, more than half of young adults from 20 to 30 on

average leave their homes in search of job or pursuit of education. Although most adults visit

home frequently, their relationship with parents and siblings are far less affectionate than time

when hunter family members depended on each other.

No doubt, the economy flourishes under the technological development, but toxic

emission due to factories, automobiles, and so forth pollutes the environment. Global warming,

haze, and increasing number of endangered species are evidences of negative impacts of

modernization.

In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must present, said Francis

Bacon.

Like Ronald Reagan had announced in the news that most Americans preferred to live

for the future while taking inspiration from the past, technology has affected with peoples

willingness every aspect of modern peoples life ranging from Health to communication,

education to awareness.

Revealed in the study published by the National Academy of Sciences, the life

expectancy is increasing over time. Due to the innovative medical invention of vaccine, diseases
like smallpox and measles that devastated countless Native tribes upon the arrival of Columbus

Christopher, vanished like the morning mist, evaporating as the sun climbs in the sky, only that it

will never be as thick and heavy as it used to be before the fiery-hot sun rose. Moreover, modern

people have greater access to medical help with more hospitals present in the distance equivalent

to arm length. Following the introduction of Genetically Modified crops, bioengineering could

produce more nutritious food to provide for the enlarging populations. An example of one such

product is "Golden Rice, a strain of rice that contains beta-carotene (a source of vitamin A and

iron). This new strain of rice has become a major source of consumption for those countries that

depend on rice.

Many contemporaries have thrown themselves into the breach and attempted to diminish

the negative impacts of modernization(environment pollution). But this enormous project

requires the contribution of all humans. Nonetheless, time is unstoppable and so is the innovation

capability of science.