The Positive Effects of Technology on Society

With the proliferation of technologies that are able to overcome the obstacles of time and space (e.g., airplanes, cars, the Internet) happening at an exponential rate, society is seeing a major shift in the way that everyone acts. Although technology gets a lot of flak amongst older generations for corrupting our youth, there was a reason technology was made.  It was made to make our lives easier and more efficient. Many people, typically those of the older generation, think of technology as a threat to society. They say that society was fine before it and the major growth of it will lead to negative effects such as causing people to be distracted, overly stressed, and increasingly isolated. However, I believe that the growth of technology can lead to the growth of communication between people over both short and long distances and will have a net positive effect on modern day society. 

The main thing that I see technology having a major positive impact on is education. Modern-day students not only have computers to help them with their schoolwork, they also use the Internet for research while teachers use technology to enhance their lessons. Things such as research, distance learning, and in-class lessons are enhanced due to technology.

First of all, school libraries are typically outdated and having a computer at your fingertips fixes that. Students are able to use the Internet and digital encyclopedias to obtain the research they need. While students should be wary of the legitimacy of some of the content they read online, many schools use software like the Encyclopedia Britannica to help students do research.

Next, in the past, students could take distance or continuing education classes, also called "correspondence courses," at community colleges and universities. After enrolling in a course of this style, a student would receive course documents in the mail and would be required to mail assignments to his teacher at the educational institution. Now, with computers and high speed Internet, we can use websites such as CDLI to teach courses from across the province or even country.

Lastly, teachers are given materials such as their own computers and SMART-boards to help make tailor their lectures to students of their class. They can pull up a website in a flash and show the students what they need to learn. It makes it very easy for them to teach their lectures effectively.

In conclusion, I believe that technology has a great impact on society in relation to communications and most prominently, education.