http://my.highschooljournalism.org http://my.highschooljournalism.org en-us Copyright 2008 - All Rights Reserved. Fri, 24 May 2013 13:28:39 GMT 15 By Sonali Gupta and Sanata Sy-Sahande
Pro: By, Sonali Gupta The world has become a much better place and an easier place to live with the advances in different types of technology. Today in the world there are so many cures for diseases that could never have been found without the help of the advanced technology in science and medicine. In the past, diseases were often deadly, while in today’s world we can just as often pop a pill or get a shot. People today are healthier because of technological advances such as MRI, simple blood tests, and x-rays. Advances in technology determine precisely what is wrong with an individual, which allows doctors to diagnose and treat much more effectively. Our society has become a more modern place and, more importantly, a safer place because of advancements in law-enforcement technology. Today’s investigators use different techniques such as finger-printing, DNA testing and dental record identification to catch criminals and, over time, reduce crime. Advances in technology have not only encouraged but also required people to educate themselves more. Also, technology forces us to challenge ourselves – especially our minds – in ways that our ancestors never could have imagined. There are so many complicated techniques and advanced software available that no matter where one turns, technology is waiting. Although complicated, technological advances are mastered and maneuvered by the intellectual human mind. Newly invented machinery presents a challenge when you have to operate it in a very specific way and this challenge is what makes technology important. Technology has made life easier. One doesn’t have to walk on the street for even two minutes to get somewhere because we can get in a car and be at any destination in a fraction of the time it used to take people. We don’t have to cut vegetables one by one when we can just put them in a food processor. We also don’t have to worry about long distance calls or letters getting lost – now we can write to anyone at anytime by using email. Technology has brought cell phones, which help us stay in contact with our relatives and close friends. Earth is a better place with the help of computers, the Internet and manufacturers that use technology to produce goods faster and more efficiently. There are hundreds of benefits such as better housing, better living standards, better education, better supplies, more machinery, easier work, and the list goes on. Advancements in technology have helped make the sick well, and provided an infinite amount of people a new life that they deserve. Our society has been vastly improved by technology. Society looks good when there are beautiful homes and buildings, both products of advanced technology. Society has been improved by technological advances in medicine, in engineering, in business, in education and these things have made for a better life. Con: By Sanata Sy-Sahande Technology is the practical application of scientific knowledge. But, as recent technological advances have shown us, technology is not always practical. The Internet – an intricate maze of emails, chat rooms, MySpace, and just about anything else you can think of is one of the many ways technology has supposedly improved daily life. It’s also the home of predators, identity thieves, spam email, and “mature” content. What once was intended to connect people quickly and easily has now transformed into an almost undetectable breeding ground for illicit activity. Nearly three quarters of Americans currently own a cell phone, and, according to ScienceDaily.com, Apple sold 8.73 million iPods in the last fiscal quarter alone. Now-a-days leaving the house without either one is disastrous. It is not uncommon to see children as young as eight or nine years old toting a cell phone or other electronic device. Tech gadgets can be good…while they work. When things start malfunctioning, like when a laptop crashes or that slick new iPod freezes, curses and headaches ensue. In the decades to come, will we find ourselves driving two yards to go visit the neighbors down the street or taking the elevator to go up a floor? We might be reduced to issuing labels such as, “Warning: prolonged use may lead to obesity, laziness, loss of social skills, shortened attention span, slow brain development, and/or violent behavior.” If you guessed video games, you were right. The good old days of Pac-Man and Pong are long gone, with new “virtual reality” games boasting sales of $25 billion. This does not mean that the average game player will end up living in Mom’s basement at age thirty-five. But those people staring at a screen for hours at a time are not helping themselves either. While video games are only one of a number of sedentary activities that lead to obesity, health concerns have grown because of the correlation between the two, says the WebMD website on kids’ health. Hold on, the answer to technology’s ills is…more technology! Thanks to new technology obesity can be “cured” with liposuction or a number of other surgeries. According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) 11.9 million Americans had some kind of cosmetic procedure in 2004. While we can thank wonderful contributions from chemistry and biology to the field of medicine, cosmetic surgery has emerged as a major role in fostering America’s obsession with the ideal body image. New technological advances like this always raise controversial issues that invade news headlines daily, as politicians and the general public struggle to find compromises between morality and science. One of the biggest moral issues is artificial insemination. Some argue that it can bring happiness to those unable to bear children, while on the other hand, we have custody battles over fertilized eggs and 60 year old women with the ability to bear children. Stem cell research, another controversial topic, poses the issue of whether or not scientists should be permitted to destroy human embryos in the name of scientific research. The research may lead to cures in cancer, diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease, but to some, it is at the expense of human life. The things that are supposed to make life easier often end up making it more difficult. So are we better off now than 20 years ago? 50 years ago? 100 years ago? People may not have had cell phones or Palm Pilots, but at least they were not debating controversial topics and political conflicts that will ultimately be left up to our generation to resolve. ]]> Fri, 17 Nov 2006 16:51:00 GMT