Technology and Me

 Final Blog Post

Ever since my late youth I have noticed that the increase in popularity of technology, especially that of the handheld variety, has skyrocketed.  While this can't be taken as a positive or a negative, there are many different pros and cons to the availability and mass production of technology, especially in my life and the lives of those around me.  

Credit: Nintendo

When I was about 11, my step-father got me my first game console, the Nintendo Wii.  This was a wonderful device that opened my eyes to a world of creativity and inspiration that I hadn't known till that point, and even though I didn't know it yet, that device would spark a curiosity in me that has lasted to this day and serves as the driving force for my interest in the professional world.  My relationship with technology is one of fascination and intrigue.  Much of my day revolves around technology, especially since I am working on graduating as a game design major.  

Technology in my life plays an essential role in most of my productivity.  As with everyone else in the modern age I do all of my writing on a computer, check my phone for updates on the news and weather, and take some time each day to listen to Spotify.  This reliance on technology, which has only been made possible in the last few decades, is fairly widespread in today's modern world.  According to Comparitech, the average adult spends around 7 hours a day looking at a screen, with about half of that coming from mobile devices.  While this statistic may seem a little extreme, it is easy for one to lose track of time while on a device or watching something on a screen.

Credit: Getty Images

The innovations in technology, especially in the last few years, has allowed for exceptional breakthroughs in the worlds of entertainment, health, marketing, etc.  These innovations in the work force come with their own pros and cons.  The availability of mechanized work means a decrease in jobs going to blue collar workers.  According to Fortunly, every 1 robot replaces about 1.6 human employees, and with each year that the technology improves this number goes up.  

Credit: Bored Ape Yacht Club

Another change that modern technology has brought about is the availability of social media and messaging.  This too is rather controversial, as before the age of technology terms like "cyberbullying" and "revenge porn" would have never been thought up.  The availability of media and messaging apps has allowed for media and information to spread like never before, but for every factually correct article, there's hundreds of spam pages dedicated to getting their readers to click on more links.  Phishing and scamming sites are also very prevalent in today's world, and with the creation of NFTs, scammers have even more avenues to take advantage of people.

While this all might be somewhat scary, technology has thus far proven to be an important stepping stone in human development.  With each new piece of technology there will inevitably be some problems, but each problem presents multiple solutions, often furthering the previous advances and innovations that came before.