Reader Response Draft 2

According to Wakefield (2010), there is an increasing technological gap between developed countries and less-developed countries, which in turn reflects the economy of these countries. Wi-Fi infrastructures are build to provide internet access to rural areas, where PCs are also available for sale at lower prices to poorer citizens. Report author, Meinrath, believes that even though people have the internet access, it is also crucial for them to have the desire to learn to use in order to maximise the benefits of internet access.

The article gave me a clear view of the advantages of technology in our everyday lives as well as the comparison of the technological gap between the developed countries and less developed countries. Although it is undeniable that technology has aided people in their everyday lives, technology has also created many social problems that we are facing today, which were not mentioned in the article. In this essay, I would talk about how the advantages of technology as stated in the article can bring about negative impacts to our everyday lives.

First and foremost, it is inevitable that technology has made our lives easier and more efficient. However, this could also mean that humans are getting over-reliant on technology and would potentially lose the ability to function without technology.
One example which shows humans are over-dependent on technology is from Wakefield's article where a report author, Meinrath, had compared the use of technology and reading of books, where one who choose to remain offline is viewed as one who "pridefully claiming that you don't read books" (Wakefield, 2010)
According to an experiment done by Emily, Dean, Kenneth, Richard and Joan (2007), one of the results revealed that clinicians were not able to perform without the use of technology. It was recorded that many medical students had never practiced medicine without the aid of technology.
This evidence could mean that in the event that technology were to miraculously disappear in this world or that no power is available to run the computers, most of the medicine practitioner we have would lose the capability to treat the sick effectively.

Secondly, internet access enables us to be exposed to the different trends and issues around the world. However, this could also bring about negative effects to the society's perception of beauty, especially towards the younger girls.
One example of which internet access brought exposure to even the rural areas is from Wakefield's article where villagers made a movie about Roman culture and published it on YouTube. The number of views garnered most probably could have come from around the world.
According to Strickland (n.d.), media already posses a negative effect on individual self image. The media provides a platform to showcase the unrealistic definition of beauty and body image, where viewers usually would believe them. However, they fail to realize that these unrealistic definitions were all achieved by yet another form of technology, photo-editing.
Taking into consideration that the fastest way to transmit media is through the internet, it is evident that people who have the internet access would likely be able to access these media. As such, viewers especially teenagers would conform to these beliefs and to take on extreme measures to look like those showcased models.

Lastly, technology has allowed us to create many things, such as aeroplanes, trains and vehicles. However, this would also mean that humans are able to make use of technology to create weapons that could disrupt world peace.
In Wakefield (2010) article, it was mentioned that Sweden and Greece have differing education and income level. It was also stated that a comparison of such would bring about competency in the less-developed countries.
It is interesting to note that a Google search on 'Sweden weapons' and 'Greece weapons' generate two distinct variety of weapons. The 'Sweden weapons' Google returned with better equipped weapons as well as use of nuclear and chemical weapons. Conversely, 'Greece weapons' Google results returned with a wide variety of simple weapons like spheres and arrows. However, this Google results are not a substantiate reason to draw a conclusion.
I would like to draw to a point that, technology is definitely the main source of creating and improving different types of weapons. This continuous improvement and creation of weapons, such as the use of nuclear and chemicals, would bring about potential harm to individuals when accompanied with increasing wars.

In conclusion, amidst the fact that technology has brought about countless advantages to the world, it is asserted that there are numerous disadvantages building on them as well.



References

Wakefield, J. (19 March 2010). BBC News - World wakes up to digital divide.  Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8568681.stm

Emily M. Campbell, R.N., M.S. , Dean F. Sittig, Ph.D., and Joan S. Ash. (2007) Overdependence on Technology: An Unintended Adverse Consequence of Computerized Provider Order Entry. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2710605/

Strickland, J. (n.d.) Self Image Media Influences - Just Say Yes. Retrieved from http://justsayyes.org/topics/self-image-media-influences/