Benefits of technology (interview, stats, education, money)

[kerkyros]

Hi, since I attend some english classes I have a homework where I should interview people and ask them "What are the benefits or drawbacks of technology in those areas:
-education (eq. calculators, computers, video, teleconferencing)
-shopping (eq. supermarkets, internet, credit cards)
-housework (eq. washing machines, microwaves, robots)".
Since here I can survey quite a big community of people from USA then it'll make my homework better.
By no means is it an commercial survey, so just please post anything that comes to Your mind.

Thanks in advance

[jtur88]

To increase output with constant and perpetual work.


I used to argue that the purpose of technology was to get constant productivity out of less work. But I get shouted down by people who say Work is the essence of the universe, and the purpose of technology is to raise productivity to obscene levels while keeping everybody constantly at work,

[SVTLightning]

I think you can make a very long list for each of those areas where technology has helped. I think a better question/area would be to ask what social affect technology has had on people.

[20yrsinBranson]

Pros:

It facilitates ease of communication.

It has improved the quality of graphics used by the average citizen for such things as fliers, newsletters, etc. speaking in generalities.


Cons:

It has reduced the quality of communication

I has lessened the impact of true artistic talent

It has generally resulted in people becoming lazier, fattier and more stipid.


I'm not a big fan. I use it every single day (and almost every night), but I am not a big fan.

20yrsinBranson

[Erehs059]

For me, technology is becoming way too expensive to enjoy anymore. I say it was much better when you could buy something that would last five or ten years. I can't seem to find anything these days to last more than a year, then either it stops working or becomes obsolete.

[Thaskateguy]

When I was a Child in the 50s, we thought of a future, were "Robots" would do the heavy work. that was to free up Human to do thinking and planning for a better life. But we never imagined, nor planned for Robots doing the thinking for us. And as we all know, the three "Laws of robotics" clearly stated that robots were to never be used to kill Humans. The problem is, nobody implemented those "three Laws" ---We have "Progressed" to do just the opposite of what the original plans for technology was to be. Robots now do our thinking, and our Killing for us, while we sit and get fat. ---Nice.

[Pandamonium]

Originally Posted by kerkyros

Hi, since I attend some english classes I have a homework where I should interview people and ask them "What are the benefits or drawbacks of technology in those areas:
-education (eq. calculators, computers, video, teleconferencing)
-shopping (eq. supermarkets, internet, credit cards)
-housework (eq. washing machines, microwaves, robots)".
Since here I can survey quite a big community of people from USA then it'll make my homework better.
By no means is it an commercial survey, so just please post anything that comes to Your mind.

Thanks in advance

For education: Computers rock to type on. I always found the keys on typewriters heavy and I hated changing the ribbons. With the internet, I can access stats easier. I can also access newspapers from around the world, scholarly sites maintained by universities, books and journals. The downside of the computers, or rather the internet, is that the quality of many sites is rather poor and opinion is taken as fact. Not everything available on the internet counts as a viable "source". Many people have stopped relying on books.

Teleconferencing is beautiful. Saves a bundle in trying to communicate with someone that is a great distance away and saves money on travel expenses. However, this depends largely on what you do. Like, if there is a meeting then time zones might create great difficulty.

Shopping is great in markets especially for food. I can't very well go to work come home and butcher a cow, feed the chickens ets. and so on. However, the down fall of this is that the stuff is mass produced. We don't have as many "real" butcher shops anymore so quality has taken a slide.

Shopping on the internet is great because I can buy stuff that isn't local, I can have access to bookstores and clothing and foods and music and furniture. People have a knip**** because it takes away from local business. I say, either offer what I need and lower your prices or deal with it.

I wish I had a robot. For housework, this is all about time saving and actually cleans better (vacuum cleaner, blenders, toasters, microwaves, washing machines). The bad thing I suppose is the amount of energy it uses.

[Thaskateguy]

Yep, just as I said---robots do the thinking for us.