The technological growth taking place in the world today is proceeding very rapidly, and new advances are being made with each passing day. This is possible because of the vast technology research programs currently being carried out by many researchers working within nonprofit research organizations, companies and universities. The developments taking place today are very strong and are very pervasive forces in today’s business environment. Technology can easily be defined as scientific knowledge of the practical problems we are experiencing in the world today. It cannot be denied that the impact of technology in today’s world is enormous and can be categorized into how it affects our society today and how it affects business activities and operations.
Technology undoubtedly has an impact on society. In fact, we experience this effect in our daily lives. It influences the growth of the economy, our culture and our standard of living. However, it is important to note that the benefits are a double-edged sword; some are harmful, and some are beneficial. One should be very careful and know how the effects on society affect business activities and operations.
The positive impact…
Technology has an impact on our daily lives. Our environments are all so rich in technology that most of the time, we take it for granted and never realize the level of impact it has on us until we have telephones, transportation, water, or electricity. Technological advances have greatly increased our standard of living. Even though we are currently experiencing very high rates of inflation and unemployment, people generally eat better, dress better, and live more comfortable lives.
Technology also greatly impacts all the fundamental aspects of our cultures, including laws and how they are enforced, language, the arts, health care, mobility, education, and religion. For example, major technological improvements in health care have given physicians the ability to treat their patients in a virtual environment using means such as video conferencing, which has also greatly benefited the legal environment as it allows judges to continue to hear cases of hardened criminals who cannot enter courtrooms for security reasons.
…And the negative one
With every advance that is made in the technological world, creative destruction results. For example, television has a negative impact on movies, and synthetic fibres have a negative impact on cotton fibres. The entry of new types of technology also sometimes negatively impacts the growth of the economy; television sometimes consumes all the productive hours a man has in a day. Each new form of technology enters the market along with long-term consequences that, most of the time, are not predictable. For example, is there really a justification for nations inventing bombs, nuclear weapons and missiles to maintain security?
Even though we cannot ignore that there are a number of ways in which technology has a negative impact on our society, for the better part, it has contributed greatly to improving lives. Technology has helped us a lot to become more efficient, thereby increasing our productivity. It has also helped us greatly in saving on many resources such as time and money, which are great benefits that cannot be ignored. It has also worked well in bringing unity to the world by turning it into a global village, which has helped people overcome their cultural, racial and continental barriers more easily.
