Technology advances make life better for everyone?

Technology plays an important role in a large majority of our lives nowadays. Our quality of life has improved thanks to advances in technology, such as smart phones, tablets, GPS and medical treatment. Those technology advances make our lives more convenient and better as we can easily to access to the information we want. However, they also have their downsides that make our lives worse in terms of mental health, invasion of privacy and morality.

The daily lives of people are gradually managed by the Internet and mobile technology. It is known that people have become addicted to websurfing and checking facebook all the time by using their cell phones or computers. As a result, they are spending less time with their friends and family. There is a decline in social and physical relationships. In addition, people tend to use emails and text messages to communicate instead of saying it in person. Studies have shown that the superficial nature of relationships on the web, people lose their ability to interact in real-life. They have poor socialising skills, which further isolate them.  As they become more isolated, they are at increased risk for health problems.

The other drawback is that the advanced technologies have compromised the security and privacy of individuals. Anything can be found out about personal information on the internet. For example, identity theft takes place in online banking, e-mails and online shopping. People use these new technologies to tap your phone lines, read your emails and know by GPS where you are by tracking your mobile phone. Therefore, it would become a scary world if people do not take some precautions and protect themselves from privacy breaches.

Above all, sometimes the more technology advances the more ethics and morality will be lost. For example, cloning technology has been a critical issue. It can prevent the transmission of genetic disease. However, one of the ethical concerns is that clones also have their lives. Clones would have the same needs as non-clones of their species. It is unmoral to demand cloned humans to serve non-cloned humans as slaves. 

Although technology advances do have some positive effects and make our lives better in some ways, the downsides of them also cannot be neglected. If the advanced technologies are being used in improper ways, it will have a strong impact on human being, such as affecting mental health, invading people’s private lives and losing morality.