National University of Sciences and Technology
Balochistan Campus
Department of Computer Science
“Computing and Society”
Assignment 2
Submitted By:
Sufyan Mughal
CMS ID:
309074
Submitted to: Dr. Abdullah
Q: Write 2000 words on the negative impacts of technologies on human life.
In today’s world, humans are now connected more than ever. Things that felt like magic
or impossible feats fifty to a hundred years back are now possible with just a tap or swipe
of a finger. The invention of solid-state transistors boosted the evolution of powerful,
more efficient computers. Then came the internet; it revolutionized how people
connected, sent messages, and shared data. The technological advancements in the broad
field of Computer Science led humanity through many successes and prominent
discoveries. People being connected so and readily available information resources have
made the world a global village. Humans in the existing world today might not even be
able to imagine their daily lives without computers or technologies related to them, and
that is how we begin to see the disadvantages the so-called technological advancements
might bring us. Although the rapid evolution in technology is of great help and assistance
to us in many ways, we were able to witness some grand discoveries and developments in
a very short span of time but apart from that, it has a significant impact on human lives.
One pattern that can be seen through the years of technological developments is that
every milestone humanity achieved made humans less active and promoted them to
accomplish their daily tasks without doing any physical activities. Therefore, a balance
between work and rest was disrupted. This shift in the balance made humans lazier and
automation in various sectors and systems worked like cherry on top. Nowadays humans
are looking for their jobs to get done with as minimum physical effort as possible. The
negative impacts of technology greatly impacted people’s physical health and well-being.
It raised many health-related issues such as blood pressure problems, obesity, neural
issues, etc. One example that can be given in that case is of recent COVID period where
lockdown forced people to stay indoors. During this period, the physical exposure and
influence of people to the outside world was shut off and it compelled people to become
even more dependent on technology and limited physical activities. A study done
by ‘BMC Public Health shows “Impacts of the Covid-19 lockdown and relevant
vulnerabilities on capability well-being, mental health and social support” here.
Some of the major negative physical impacts are discussed as follows:
Eyestrain:
It is clearly seen that mobile technology can be easily misused and can
easily cause more problems than technologies that are not mobile. For example,
smartphones. Excessive use of smartphones can cause temporary or permanent eye
damage. Eyestrain is very common in people having too much screen time. It also
causes weakening of eyesight in adults as well as children, although, some
standard advice suggests that you follow the 20-20-20 rule; it means that you look
away from your screen for 20 seconds after 20 minutes, at an object at least 20 feet
away.
Musculoskeletal pain:
It generally refers to the pain caused in bones, muscles, ligaments, and
tendons. It can be caused by bad posture and other various non-ergonomic
activities. The irregular usage of smartphones, laptops, and PCs can cause such
problems. Especially when people forget to perform their exercises and don’t take
time to stretch for a while.
Sedentism:
In a time where problem solving and professional tasks are achieved with
the help of computers, it also makes people, metaphorically, stick to their chairs
only and spend most of their time seated in one place. Especially in an office
environment, where people need to spend time in their cubicles usually for around
8 hours a day. It also has a worrying impact on one’s bodily health where people
can suffer from deformity issues and long-lasting pain.
Distraction:
The average population uses their computers mostly for entertainment
purposes. May it be just chatting or sharing funny pictures online, the fact that it
also distracts them from real, more important issues humanity is facing, is
inevitable. Sooner or later, they ought to realize the importance of different things
and set their priorities straight. It also separates people and makes them distant
even if they are in the same hall. With the development in the concept of
metaverse and virtual reality technologies and devices such as VR headsets,
people are spending millions of dollars on digital assets that don’t have any realworld value. Real issues such as poverty, world hunger and employment are being
overshadowed by this shift in investment. So far, no project has promised to turn
money that people are spending on digital assets into real-world value. This mass
distraction has cost humanity not just physically but mentally as well.
Energy consumption and pollution:
The expansion in hardware technologies brought with it the need for more
energy production. Satisfying these needs meant the threat of an increase in
pollution. As we see today, billions of smartphones operate at any given second.
even computer-controlled industrial machines hurt the environment by producing
harmful by-products. Although these issues are being solved by the development
and use of green energy machines but humanity is still far from it.
Some of the major negative psychological impacts are discussed as follows:
Reduced attention span:
It is seen especially in children of very young age, who are made habitual
of the use of smartphones that they have extremely reduced attention span. They
cannot stay attentive to anything for more than a few minutes. This significantly
affects and hinders their academic performance, overall studies, and growth. It
also makes them impatient. It is also due to the fact that entertainment
consumption has become fast paced. Apps like TikTok allow their users to
consume huge amounts of content in short time units, unlike apps like YouTube
where content is categorized and its interface is slower than of TikTok.
Depression:
Various studies show that depression in young people, especially children
and teenagers has gotten worse and the use of social media during that time has
also increased. Connecting to peers online is less emotionally fulfilling than
meeting face to face. The conflicts on the internet also arise when people connect
with each other and share their thoughts, opinions, and sometimes feelings with
other people. These conflicts can quickly become brutal and violent and can affect
one’s mental health due to the fact that of people’s impatient behaviors and poor
conflict resolution approaches. The illusion of perfect people on social media and
fake appearances can often make users become depressed and feel isolated and
inferior. This also becomes the cause for their lack of confidence and participation
in real life. Groups of people or organizations that make their profit off these users
glorify their ideologies and as a result, a large number of consumers fall prey to
them. Specific pages that share depressing and suicidal ideas are also liked and
shared by people, though for entertainment purposes, but they silently infect
people’s mental health. There are numerous cases of violence and suicides that can
be rooted to the use of social media.
Isolation:
Heightened use of the internet, especially social media gives people the
feeling of connectedness and they feel emotionally fulfilled. The amount of
happiness chemical that is released in the brain becomes extremely addicting and
it makes them stay connected to the internet more and more. As a result, people
don’t value real life interactions as much and are leaned towards introversion and
become isolated.
Explicit content:
In today’s world, information and technology are made so easily available
that even people in remote areas are aware of what’s happening around them, but
this also comes with a disadvantage. Explicit and violent content is also made
available without any checks. The generation of young people and their mental
health is greatly impacted by this. When people come across these things without
preparing themselves and without putting in place the filters that protect them
from such kinds of information, problems like depression, phobias and complexes
arise in their personal life.
A study was done by ‘The National Library of Medicine shows ‘The effect of psychiatric
symptoms on the internet addiction disorder in Isfahan's University students’ here.
One of the greatest things anyone can do for their mental health is block, delete and
unfollow every single person, page, group, and website that shares any form of
depressing, sad, self-loathing, and victimizing content, whether it may be on their feed,
emails or subscriptions.
When we take up a new craft, a new job, or a hobby, we begin to notice it everywhere
and in everything. The subconscious works in mysterious ways, one of them being that
anything we are faced with on a regular basis will multiply and gravitate toward us in a
multitude of ways within our daily experience of life.
This multiplies tenfold for what we consume on social media. When we are hit with a
barrage of sad people complaining about their lives, playing the perpetual victim, and
making fun of themselves, we will start noticing it in all places, most predominantly in
ourselves.
When we are told every day that the world is a depressing, dark, miserable place, we will
begin to believe it and the effects happen so suddenly and quietly.
Another, very important aspect of using technology and humankind’s digital footprint is
their privacy. When we use the internet, we are entitled to the same privacy rights as in
the physical world. People themselves should be able to decide what they share with
others and what they choose to keep private. They also have the right to their data. So,
when these rights are compromised, we see that it jeopardizes the safety and security of
users. Rising concerns for the security of users online gave benefits to black hat hackers
to exploit this chaos and propel their own propaganda by stealing data and forming
fabricated narratives. Sometimes, giant private organizations and even state-formed
agencies deceive their people by collecting and selling their private data without their
knowledge and consent. Not many years ago, Central Intelligence Agency caused an
outrage when its mass surveillance programs and warrantless backdoor searches of
Americans got leaked. Some of the information from the documents got declassified and
were even published in articles by famous magazines.
The Internet can be a terrifying place. Between phishing, malware and a range of scams,
there are numerous risks. In any case, there's an even more obscure corner of the web
where hardly any individuals set out to wander and it can affect internet users: The Dark
Web.
The Dark Web is a little piece of a lot bigger Deep Web-a typical name for an assortment
of sites that aren't available through ordinary Internet applications. These sites are hidden
away from ordinary Internet. They are based on framework of networks that as of now
exist - And there are loads of them. In fact, the Deep Web makes up most of the data on
the web.
Individual data, for example, school and clinical records, bank proclamations and private
messages are all essential for the huge Deep Web. To get close enough to this data, you
should have the option to get to an overlay network utilizing particular programming and
passwords. This is something to be thankful for on the grounds that it protects delicate
data, and keeps web search tools from getting to and ordering it.
The additional security of the Deep Web makes it alluring for the individuals who believe
that their web-based activities should stay unknown. The Dark Web is a little piece of the
Deep Web. Dissimilar to the Deep Web which keeps untouchables from getting to data,
the proprietors of dull sites permit anybody with the right program to get to their
destinations. One of the most famous of these is The Onion Browser, more usually
known as Tor.
Due to the accessibility of cryptocurrency and security of the deep web, many illegal
activities and organizations operate in the shadows, such as drugs and human trafficking
and corruption and money laundering. The affects of the illegal use of web can be
abysmal and appalling.
After all, it only depends on the person making use of the available technology. If they
choose to use it wisely and justly and in order to achieve a greater purpose that would
actually benefit humanity, the world can be a better place.