iPod, DVR, Blackberry...oh my!

I think I sit on the fence when it comes to technology. What I mean when I say that is sometimes I think it is the best thing that has happened to society, but then sometimes I feel that we may have been better off when life was simpler. It is like the paradox of our time i.e. more conveniences but less time.

I can still remember the day when my Grandfather got cable television. He was so frustrated at the amount of new channels that he said he wanted to quote, “Throw a brick at the screen!” Little did he know that in less then twenty years the ten new channels would turn into two hundred plus.

Many argue that as we venture further into the frontier of technology we proceed with a slow death of society, by losing culture and ultimately a sense of self. To a certain extent this may be true, but realistically if we cease to progress will we still be able to survive?

There are so many advantages and disadvantages of technology that it does make for a great topic of discussion. On the positive side, technology has given us the ability to create shortcuts that can make our jobs and daily tasks easier. It has allowed us to not only cure diseases but prolong life. We are able to travel to across the world, communicate with anyone we please, and have access to a vast amount of information 24 hours a day in order to make better decisions.

We all know there is a lot of good, but we have also seen some of the problems with technology and there are still an awful lot of unknowns out there that will be changing by the day.

The biggest problem with technology is that it makes it easier for people to do almost anything, which means that people have less and less to do, which in turn results in more laziness, less activity, less effort,less patience and more free time, which can be taken as being a very unwholesome thing. Technology has also caused a lot of people to lose their jobs, and has created few jobs in return. It has eliminated the notion of personal privacy and caused a lot of people to forget what it is like to truly relax. How many of you can go one week without checking your email or using your cell phone?

The more advanced technology gets, the less control humans have. So if you think about it, technology could backfire on humanity in which humans are unable to live without it.

The one thing that keeps me on the positive side of technology is not HD television or my fabulous iPod, but the kind of technology that keeps you in touch with the people you care about. The best example is my webcam. This little piece of technology allows me to see my niece and sister as often as I want. So even though we are a four hour plane ride away, the webcam allows me to interact with them everyday and therefore I don't miss out on special moments.

So perhaps technology is amoral, neither good nor bad. It’s what we do with it that makes it good or bad. I think everything in moderation is ok. However, if you are unable to do that, at least try your best to use technology for good like sending a text message that makes someone smile or capturing precious moments on your video camera.

As for what the future holds in terms of techonology...we will just have to wait and see.