My Relationship with Technology

When the discussion of technology starts there are two ways it can go. People talk about the positives or negatives of whatever technology piece they are debating. These discussions about the positives and negatives could probably go on forever because there is so much technology and it is constantly changing. Technology is everywhere and it affects everyone’s lives. 

Everyone has their own experience growing up with technology. My personal experience I think

was different in some ways but also the same in other ways. I think my younger self had a healthy relationship with technology. When growing up I always had technology around me like a Playstation and a Wii but I never really overused them. Growing up I lived in a rural area but was close to my friends so I would go play with them outside instead of sitting inside. I think I was lucky for this because I had a childhood that I would want my kids to have where they are always outside playing games with other kids. I did play videogames but it never got to the point of affecting me negatively or developing into an addiction. Addictions to video game can be bad and causes people to not want to interact with others or can cause physical harm from not being healthy. For me this was never a problem because I always had a lifestyle where videogames were only used when I had nothing going on and just wanted to relax. 

My relationship with technology now is very different than it was when I was younger. Technology has gotten so popular that it is a part of everything I do. I feel the role has flipped from when I was younger to now. In college, I am on technology for everything. For example, when I do schoolwork, when I tutor, use my phone, or play videogames all of these involve me using technology. So now I feel like when I work out or go out with friends I escape from technology. When I was younger, I get on technology to relax or escape from doing what I was doing. 

There are some positives to technology being everywhere. Since technology is everywhere I get to stay connected to my family and friends since I go to college eight hours away from them. If I was not able to stay connected to them, then I do not know if would have went to college at High Point University because it would have really hard for me.

 Another positive is online learning. I have a hard time learning with my accounting classes that are for upper classmen. With the ability to look up YouTube videos I can be taught by someone else that may teach it in another way.  These two positive points really help me with college, and I do not know if I would be able to do it with them. 

Even though the positives are helpful there are some negatives to technology. The first negative I have with technology is the increase in screen time I have with it. Increasing screen time can negatively affect people because this can cause social anxiety and depression. Even though I do not have these things I have seen other people I know have a lot of screen time and get anxiety when they cannot be on their phone. Another problem people have is self-image. People who scroll or post constantly on social media can develop self-image issues to the point where they need other people’s approval. Even though I do not have these negative affects myself I am still conscious of them because I do not want to develop them.  

Technology can be a blessing or a curse. People need to become aware of what can happen if they get too involved with technology. The world today has too many people that are caught up in technology. The video called Mad World Remix of Moby Video

 does a good job of painting a picture of our world and how people are getting to caught up in technology. It does a good job also showing how the negatives of technology are very easy to see when taking a step back and seeing the world. The part of the video that hit me the most was that there was always so much going on in the background that was easy to miss if just looking at the people with the phones. I feel like that depicts how the world is today. People are always looking at the person taking a picture or taking pictures themselves but are not seeing what is going on. 

Talking about the positives and negatives could be an endless discussion but the effect of technology is important to understand. Technology has helped a lot of people, from modern medicine to helping me see my family when I miss them. People need to stop to see the negatives that can come out of overuse of technology if they get consumed by it.