iWrite-Leah Noble

I'm pretty sure we can almost all agree that technology has both a positive and negative impact on our daily lives. However, I think some of the things that make this newer technology great can also lead to negative effects.

For example, being able to be connected with others at the touch of a button just about anywhere, a very convenient thing, has caused some adverse effects as well. I know from personal experience that sometimes spending a lot of time on group messaging has led to conflicts within even the tightest knit group of friends. It's the same idea as spending a week at a camp with the same people, you get tired of them and everyone starts to fight. In addition to this, being connected with your friends all the time makes the occasions you do get to see them in person less special and less interesting in that you already know what's going on in their lives.

I also think that part of the reason why technology is sometimes given a negative label is not because of the idea of the technology itself, but because of the ways we, as humans, abuse it. For example, many people complain about technology being such a time waster and a distraction from work that needs to get done. The problem here, however, doesn't lie in the technology, but in the person who is letting the technology distract them. I do agree that sometimes social media, texting, etc. can be very distracting, but we all also have the ability to choose to let it be a distraction. WE make the choice to pick up our phone and see what's happening on instagram or twitter, the technology itself is not forcing us to waste time, we do that at our own will.

In general, I think that most of the new technology given to us, in and of itself, has a positive impact on society. The problems occur, however, when we decide to use (or overuse) it in a negative way.