We explain why technology is important in people's daily lives. Its history, advantages and possible risks.
What is the importance of technology in everyday life?
Technology is the union of scientific knowledge and productive techniques with the purpose of developing new tools, new materials and, consequently, new ways of understanding reality. Thanks to it, it is possible to design and produce machines and systems, or control complex processes like humanity has never seen before.
Technology has always been present in history, in one way or another, but since the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century and particularly In the 20th century, its effect began to drastically and rapidly alter the way human beings live. Technology has many very different effects on society, many of them positive, others not so much.
Thus, for example, the vast majority of the devices that we use daily, from televisions to computers, irons and kitchen appliances, are the result of a set of scientific knowledge applied to the resolution of a domestic problem or to the use of (economic) possibilities. , social, cultural) that did not exist before.
In this way, technology continually creates new instruments to allow human beings carry out different jobs in a simpler, faster and with less effort. A blender, for example, saves a person cooking time who would otherwise have to manually chop or mix food, just as a computer allows its users to exchange information, learn new knowledge, and perform mathematical operations quickly and easily. reliably.
The impact of technology on life is enormous, especially in areas such as:
- health for example, the development of new medications and medical practices.
- communication as new forms of interconnection over great distances.
- The organization of society such as new methods of surveillance, activity registration or transportation.
But, to the same extent, technology brings with it certain risks and certain learning needs that did not exist before. For example, advances in the field of robotics and work automation (artificial intelligence) bring with them the possibility of manufacturing more objects, faster and better than using human personnel. This without a doubt enhances productive capacity, but at the same time implies the loss of jobs that will be moved by machines.
Likewise, the irresponsible use of technology can cause great damage to humanity. through her new and dangerous forms of weapons can be created military (such as the invention of the atomic bomb, for example, or the development of biological weapons such as viruses and bacteria), deception and disinformation (such as computer viruses or fake news), or cause environmental damage (pollution, ecological degradation) that reduces the quality of life of the species.
In this way, technology not only makes daily life easier and provides new solutions to real problems, but it also exerts a powerful influence on people: the way they work, socialize, and even their expectations for the future. This means that many everyday problems are solved thanks to technology, while others are the result, precisely, of its advancement and development.
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References
- “New technology and everyday life” by Agnes Heller in The Country (Spain).
- “What is the importance of science and technology in humanity” at the University of Engineering and Technology (Peru).
- “Technology in everyday life: a pedagogical magazine on the web” by Josefa Mollà, Lucena Rodríguez and Andreu Pujol in Al sur: magazine of research and educational experiences (2001, p. 135-138).
